Once the paint had dried (though in hindsight I probably could have applied it right away) I spread ground-cover over the painted areas.  I started with a layer of fine brown turf and followed it with patches of green.  I then used the underbrush ground foam from Woodland Scenics.  I sprinkled on each layer before applying scenic cement over all of it.

After installing the ground-cover I realized that I did not like the look of the foam-core for the street crossings and took them out.  I left the parking lot over by the meat packing plant as I still intend to try making worn asphalt with it.  I used pieces of strip-wood to make the crossings, checking and re-checking for clearance for smooth operation and easy cleaning.  I used a hobby knife to score the ends of the individual boards at 8 scale feet intervals.  I used a tack to create nail holes in the boards.

In the area between the crossings I used fine ballast to simulate a gravel road.  I think I will use this technique for the rest of the road up to the parking lot.

And yes, I just had to make sure the model of the GOP caboose was in the picture.