The location of Cedar Heights was of great importance to its success as a community. The Interurban and Trolley Route made commuting possible from Cedar Heights to either Waterloo or Cedar Falls. The tracks ran down the center of Grand Boulevard, joining the three towns. The electric trolley was an inexpensive form of transportation until the 1920s when it began to be replaced by mass transit buses. The buses provided a cheaper alternative to laying new track and repairing the old as the area continued to grow. The trolley enjoyed a resergence in popularity during World War II, due to gas rationing and the location of the Naval Training Base at the Iowa State Teachers College. It ran every half-hour from six in the morning until midnight. Despite competition  from buses the electric trolly survived for a decade after the war, making its last run in July 1958.  The tracks were later removed and grass and trees were planted in their place to create a gorgeous boulevard for all seasons.

    Rainbow Drive was and remains the main road linking Cedar Heights with Waterloo and Cedar Falls. The dirt stretch was first named Whitney or Crandall Road. The dirt, and later gravel, provided extremely poor traveling conditions. Cars buried to their axles in mud were not an uncommon sight. In 1916, the road became Liberty Avenue, and two years later it changed again. Rainbow Drive was renamed to honor Earl King, one of Black Hawk County's first volunteers in World War I. He was a member of Company B Infantry, 42nd Rainbow Division. In 1919, Rainbow Drive was widened to eighteen feet and was bricked from southeast of the Electric Park in Waterloo, to East 18th Street and Waterloo Road. It was not blacktopped until 1957 due to the fuss created over the removal of trees needed to widen the road.  

    Conditions were similar on University Avenue in the early 1900s. Originally known as "Old Cedar Falls Road" or Highway 218, this dirt, and later gravel, road carried travelers from Waterloo to Cedar Falls on the outskirts of Cedar Heights. It connected with Rainbow Drive by three wagon-track roads: Hackett Road, Cedar Heights Drive, and Rownd Street. "Bloody Alley" became its nickname in 1930 because the straight stretch was easy to race cars on, causing many accidents and deaths when Highway 218 was widened and paved.