I understand and have thought the same thing before. I usually draw a dirt road off the main road, and consider that my "main drive". Then each service placed on the road is used as a building.
Don't forget to edit things like parks, power plants, water and sewage facilities to add additional services to them, though. I don't forget power plants have multiple stacks to place, but I always have to remind myself that I can edit a park and place extensions for parks so there's only one entrance. It also saves a lot of space, since they can be placed so much closer together and run along behind buildings. Just remember that if there is only one entrance, then that's the only place the Sims will get into it.