Attributes of links

The Links window opens when you insert a network object and have selected to have the Edit dialog opened automatically after object creation (Right-click behavior and action after creating an object). By default, only the Links list is opened.

Into the window, you enter attribute values for the network object. For network objects which have already been defined, you can call the window using the following functions:

In the list of network objects of the network object type, double-click the row with the desired network object.
In the Network editor, select the network object of your choice. Then, from its shortcut menu, choose Edit.

The network object may have additional attributes. In the network objects list of the network object type, you can show all attributes and attribute values. You can open the list via the following functions:

In the network object toolbar, right-click the desired network object type. Then from the shortcut menu, choose Show List (Context menu in the network object toolbar).
In the Network editor, select the network object of your choice. Then, from its shortcut menu, choose Show In List (Selecting network objects in the Network editor and showing them in a list).
From the Lists menu, in the desired category, choose the network object type.

In the network objects list of the network object type, you can edit attributes and attribute values of a network object (Selecting cells in lists), (Using lists).

The objects of this object type may have relations to other objects. This is why the attributes list is shown as part of a coupled list (on the left). On the Lists toolbar, in the Relations box, you can show and edit the coupled list with the attributes of the desired relation on the right (see below Showing and editing dependent objects as relation) and (Using coupled lists).

Note: In lists, you can use the Attribute selection icon to show and hide attribute values (Selecting attributes and subattributes for columns of a list).

Basic attributes of links

The basic attributes of the network element are shown in the upper area of the window and in the list of network objects for the particular network object type.

Element	Description
No.	Unique number of the link
Name	Designation of the link
Count Lanes	Number of lanes (NumLanes). The table in the Lanes tab is automatically adjusted. If there already is a lane and you increase the number of lanes, the new lane is inserted in the Network editor and adopts attributes from the existing lane.
Link Length	Length2D: Length of the link in meters Length3D accounts for z-offset of the link
Behavior type	Link Behavior Type (LinkBehavType): Driving behavior for the link (Defining link behavior types for links and connectors) and (Defining driving behavior in a driving behavior parameter set). If the attribute Is pedestrian area is selected, the behavior type None is automatically selected.
Display type	Colored display of the link (Defining display types). In the coupled list Lanes, in the Display Type column, you can edit the Display Type attribute for individual lanes of the link. The coupled list Lanes is selected in the Links list, in the Relations list box.
Level	For modeling of multistory buildings or bridge structures: level on which the link is located
Has passing lane	HasOvtLn: The inner lane may only be used for overtaking maneuvers on the oncoming lane. This is only possible on links with at least two lanes (Modeling overtaking maneuvers on the lane of oncoming traffic). If this option is selected, for right hand traffic, the outer left lane is displayed as the passing lane, with hatched background. For left hand traffic, the lane on the far right is the passing lane, displayed with hatched background. If a passing lane and regular lane of a link of the opposite direction overlap for long enough, the overlapping area may be used for passing. Only select this attribute for links on which passing is actually allowed in reality. Avoid passing lanes on which overtaking is not possible in reality, e.g. at junctions or in traffic controlled areas. You can also select this attribute for several, successive links that are connected via connectors and have at least two lanes. Vehicles can then use the entire overlapping area for overtaking maneuvers. If the passing lane is closed for a vehicle class, the vehicles of this class cannot use the passing lane for overtaking. You can place other network objects, e.g. data collection points, on passing lanes. Passing lanes are not shown in 3D mode.

Lanes tab

The list in the tab contains, amongst others, the following attributes:

Column	Description
Index	Unique number of the lane. You cannot change this entry later on.
Width	Width of the lane If several lanes are defined, several rows are displayed. You can define different widths. The width has an effect on: the graphic display of a link the possibility of whether a vehicle can overtake within a lane. For this, overtaking within a lane must be selected in the driving behavior parameters (Editing the driving behavior parameter Lateral behavior). The width does not have any effect on the speeds.
BlockedVehClasses	Blocked vehicle classes on this lane. If the link of the lane has a vehicle input, the vehicles of this vehicle class are not used on this lane. The vehicles of this vehicle class do not carry out a lane change into this lane. This also applies if this would be necessary because of their route. Vehicles of the particular vehicle class attempt to leave the lane as quickly as possible, if an adjacent lane is not blocked for the vehicle class. If all of the lanes in a link are blocked for a vehicle class, the vehicles of this vehicle class travel along the link without changing lane. If a link has two lanes, one of which is a passing lane and the other one is closed to all vehicle classes, Vissim will operate the vehicle on the closed lane.
Display type	Color of lane (Defining display types)
NoLnChLAllVehTypes, NoLnChRAllVehTypes	No lane change left – all vehicle types and No lane change right– all vehicle types: If this option is selected, vehicles may not change lanes. A prohibition of lane changes is shown in the 2D and 3D mode by means of a solid line.
NoLnChLVehClasses, NoLnChRVehClasses	No lane change left - vehicle classes and No lane change right - vehicle classes: Vehicle classes, whose vehicles must not change from a chosen lane to the adjacent lane in the direction of travel. A prohibition of lane changes is shown in the 2D and 3D mode by means of a solid line.

Notes:

If vehicles are to be able to overtake within a lane, you must select overtaking within a lane in the driving behavior parameters (Editing the driving behavior parameter Lateral behavior).
For lane changes, you must define links with multiple lanes. You cannot define lane changes between adjacent links.
No lane change also applies for a change of lane which would have to be made according to the route. Therefore, make sure that lane changes due to the route are either completed before the prohibition of lane changes, or can only be made after the prohibition of lane changes.
Cooperative lane change ignores the lane change ban (Editing the driving behavior parameter Lane change behavior).

The option All Vehicle Types is a virtual vehicle class that automatically includes all new vehicle types and vehicle types that have not been assigned a vehicle class yet.

Meso tab

Link attributes for mesoscopic simulation:

Long name	Short name	Description
Meso speed model	MesoSpeedModel	Specifies how the speed of vehicles on this link is determined. Vehicle-based: Vehicles always drive at their desired speed Link-based: Vehicles drives at the speed defined for the attribute Meso speed.
Meso speed	MesoSpeed	Meso speed is used exclusively in combination with the meso speed model Link related (Car following model for mesoscopic simulation). In this case, the meso speed defines the speed for all vehicles on the link. Default value 50.0 km/h
Meso follow-up time	MesoFollowUpGap	Follow-up gap between two vehicles in the same traffic flow. Edit this attribute in the Meso turns list or in the coupled list Nodes - Meso turns (Attributes of meso turns), (Attributes of nodes).

Short name

Meso speed model

MesoSpeedModel

Specifies how the speed of vehicles on this link is determined.

Vehicle-based: Vehicles always drive at their desired speed
Link-based: Vehicles drives at the speed defined for the attribute Meso speed.

Meso speed

MesoSpeed

Meso speed is used exclusively in combination with the meso speed model Link related (Car following model for mesoscopic simulation). In this case, the meso speed defines the speed for all vehicles on the link. Default value 50.0 km/h

Meso follow-up time

MesoFollowUpGap

Follow-up gap between two vehicles in the same traffic flow. Edit this attribute in the Meso turns list or in the coupled list Nodes - Meso turns (Attributes of meso turns), (Attributes of nodes).

Pedestrian Area tab

Attributes of links, if they are meant to be used by pedestrians and not by vehicles:

LongName	Short name	Description
Is pedestrian area	IsPedArea	Only with Viswalk: If this option is selected, the link is defined as a pedestrian area (Modeling links as pedestrian areas).
Pedestrian Behavior section
Area behavior type	AreaBehavType	Is used to model occasional changes to the speed or other parameter (Modeling area-based walking behavior).
Desired speed factor		Factor for changing the desired speed of all pedestrians, default value100 %, value range 10 % to 300 %. Using the desired speed factor, you can reduce the desired speed on the route when pedestrians move slower than at their originally desired speed, for example when walking on bad ground or carefully crossing a road. Using the desired speed factor, you can increase the desired speed on the route when pedestrians move faster than at their originally desired speed, for example when quickly crossing a road.
Conflicts with vehicles section
Consider vehicles in dynamic potential	ConsVehInDynPot	: If this option is selected, dynamic potentials of pedestrians consider current vehicle positions in conflict areas. This attribute also has an effect on the oncoming lane. For the pedestrian route locations of the pedestrian route leading across the link and for which you have selected the dynamic potential, select a calculation interval that is sufficiently short.(Dynamic potential attributes).
G for vehicles	VehDynPotG	Vehicles dynamic potential G: Dynamic potential parameters affecting the general strength of vehicles, default value: 3. This attribute also has an effect on the oncoming lane.

Display tab

Attributes for the display of the link. The attributes do not influence the driving behavior.

The tab contains, amongst others, the following attributes:

Element	Description
3D
z-offset (start)	ZOffset (zOffsetStart): Starting point of z-coordinates of link for 3D display.
z-offset (end)	z-offset (end) (zOffsetEnd): End poiont of z-coordinates of link for 3D display.
By default, z-offset (start) and z-offset (end) do not have any impact on the driving behavior when it comes to upward or downward gradients. If the z-coordinates in your Vissim network have been entered correctly, you can have Vissim calculate upward and downward gradients. In this case, the option Use gradient from z coordinates must be selected (Selecting network settings for vehicle behavior). If you change the values of the z-offset (start) or the z-offset (end) and have inserted intermediate points into the link, Vissim will recalculate the z-offset values of the intermediate points. To ensure that the upward or downward gradient is harmonious, Vissim calculates a spline for the vertical course of the link.
Thickness (3D)	Thickness for display of the link in 3D mode.

Visualization

Individual vehicles

Show individual vehicles (ShowVeh): Select this option to show vehicles in the 2D mode.

If this option is not checked, no vehicles are indicated in the 2D mode. With this, you can indicate underpasses or tunnel sections. This option applies for the entire link. Therefore you must define a separate link for each underpass or for each tunnel.

Note: Do not use this option in 3D mode, but rather model the height details of the links correctly!

Show classified values

ShowClsfValues: Select this option to show classified values (not to show the display type selected). To show classified values, in the graphic parameters for links, select a color scheme and an attribute (Assigning a color to links based on aggregated parameters).

Label

If this option is not checked, the labeling of the link is not shown.

Show link bar

Select this option to to show links with link bars (List of graphic parameters for network objects).

Other tab

The tab contains, amongst others, the following attributes:

Element	Description
Gradient	Uphill and downhill slopes of the link in percent. Downhill slopes have a negative value. The value impacts the driving behavior via the maximum acceleration and maximum deceleration on a link. by -0.1 m/s² per gradient percent incline. The maximum accelerating power decreases when the deceleration power increases. by 0.1 m/s² per gradient percent downgrade. The accelerating power increases when the deceleration power decreases. Per default, uphill and downhill slopes in 3D mode do not affect the display (z-coordinates) of links. You can edit z-coordinates via the z-Offset attribute. If the z-coordinates in your Vissim network have been entered correctly, you can have Vissim calculate uphill and downhill slopes. In this case, the option Use gradient from z coordinates must be selected (Selecting network settings for vehicle behavior).
Overtake only PT	OvtOnlyPT: Vehicles traveling on a route with at least two lanes may overtake a stationary public transport vehicle during boarding and alighting of passengers if there is enough space ahead of it. In all other cases, overtaking is not possible.

Gradient

Uphill and downhill slopes of the link in percent. Downhill slopes have a negative value. The value impacts the driving behavior via the maximum acceleration and maximum deceleration on a link.

by -0.1 m/s² per gradient percent incline. The maximum accelerating power decreases when the deceleration power increases.
by 0.1 m/s² per gradient percent downgrade. The accelerating power increases when the deceleration power decreases.

Per default, uphill and downhill slopes in 3D mode do not affect the display (z-coordinates) of links. You can edit z-coordinates via the z-Offset attribute. If the z-coordinates in your Vissim network have been entered correctly, you can have Vissim calculate uphill and downhill slopes. In this case, the option Use gradient from z coordinates must be selected (Selecting network settings for vehicle behavior).

Overtake only PT

OvtOnlyPT: Vehicles traveling on a route with at least two lanes may overtake a stationary public transport vehicle during boarding and alighting of passengers if there is enough space ahead of it. In all other cases, overtaking is not possible.

Element	Description
Evaluation
Vehicle record	Vehicle record active (VehRecAct): Select this option to record link data for the vehicle record.
Lane changes evaluation active	LnChgEvalAct: Select this option to record lane data for the Lane Change evaluation.
Link evaluation active	LinkEvalAct: Select this option to record link data for the link evaluation. If you selected the attribute Use as Pedestrian Record, you can still record link data for the pedestrian record.
Segment length	The segment length which is taken into account in the link evaluations
Network performance evaluation active	NetPerfEvalAct: If this option is selected, the link is taken into account for network performance evaluation. To select individual link sequences using network performance evaluation, deselect this attribute for all other links. In the network performance evaluation of a micro simulation or a mesoscopic simulation, parking spaces and vehicle inputs are only counted for the output attributes Demand (latent) and Delay (latent), if for their links, Network performance evaluation active is selected. The output attribute Vehicles (arrived) only records vehicles that have driven on a link for which the attribute Network performance evaluation active is selected. In the network performance evaluation of a mesoscopic simulation, the data is used for all meso edges that lead across at least one link for which the attribute Network performance evaluation active is selected.

In the Dynamic assignment section:

Element	Description
Cost	Distance-dependent costs per km (CostPerKm). Only relevant for Dynamic Assignment (Using the dynamic assignment add-on module)
Surcharge 1 Surcharge 2	One-time surcharges that are taken into account for path evaluation. In the dynamic assignment, the costs for the vehicles which travel on this link are determined.

Element

Cost

Distance-dependent costs per km (CostPerKm). Only relevant for Dynamic Assignment (Using the dynamic assignment add-on module)

Surcharge 1

Surcharge 2

One-time surcharges that are taken into account for path evaluation. In the dynamic assignment, the costs for the vehicles which travel on this link are determined.

In the Overtaking in the opposing lane:

Element	Description
Overtaking speed factor:	OvtSpeedFact: Factor by which the vehicle wants to overtake, increasing its desired speed. Default 1.30.

The following attributes are only relevant for modeling overtaking maneuvers on the oncoming lane:

Element	Description
Look ahead distance	Look ahead distance for overtaking (LookAheadDistOvt): Distance that the overtaking vehicle can view on this link, upstream of the oncoming lane. At this distance oncoming traffic is perceived by drivers. At the end of this distance a virtual, oncoming vehicle is assumed, if on this link there is a vehicle input, a PT line or an inbound connector further upstream. The shorter the look ahead distance for overtaking is, the smaller the likelihood of being able to overtake. Default 250 m.
Assumed speed of oncoming traffic	AssumSpeedOncom: Speed of vehicles in oncoming lane in the following situations: Vehicles that appear in the oncoming lane at the end of the look ahead distance of the vehicle wishing to overtake Vehicles that may appear within the look ahead distance of the vehicle wishing to overtake, e.g. due to vehicle input or a parking lot located there. The higher the assumed speed of oncoming traffic is, the smaller the possibility of overtaking in these situations. Default value 60 km/h. If there is an oncoming vehicle within the look ahead distance of the vehicle wishing to overtake, Vissim uses its current speed.

Element

Look ahead distance

Look ahead distance for overtaking (LookAheadDistOvt): Distance that the overtaking vehicle can view on this link, upstream of the oncoming lane. At this distance oncoming traffic is perceived by drivers. At the end of this distance a virtual, oncoming vehicle is assumed, if on this link there is a vehicle input, a PT line or an inbound connector further upstream. The shorter the look ahead distance for overtaking is, the smaller the likelihood of being able to overtake. Default 250 m.

Assumed speed of oncoming traffic

AssumSpeedOncom: Speed of vehicles in oncoming lane in the following situations:

Vehicles that appear in the oncoming lane at the end of the look ahead distance of the vehicle wishing to overtake
Vehicles that may appear within the look ahead distance of the vehicle wishing to overtake, e.g. due to vehicle input or a parking lot located there.

The higher the assumed speed of oncoming traffic is, the smaller the possibility of overtaking in these situations. Default value 60 km/h.

If there is an oncoming vehicle within the look ahead distance of the vehicle wishing to overtake, Vissim uses its current speed.

The following attribute is only relevant for matrix correction:

CountedData (CntData): Shows the count data of the selected vehicle class, if configured in the matrix correction procedure (Correcting demand matrices).

Showing and editing dependent objects as relation

The attribute and attribute values of this network object type are shown in the list on the left, which consists of two coupled lists.

1. In the list on the left, click the desired entry.

The list on the right contains attributes and attribute values of network objects, and/or base data allocated to the network object selected in the list on the left (Using coupled lists):

Turns (evaluation): Attributes of turns of the selected link. The node-edge graph must be created for node evaluation (Generating a node-edge graph).
Turns (dynamic assignment): Attributes of turns of the selected link. The node-edge graph must be created for dynamic assignment (Generating a node-edge graph).
Dynamic vehicle routing decisions (Defining dynamic routing decisions)
Lanes: The attributes are described further above.
Vehicles: only during running simulation: attributes of vehicles on this link
Vehicle travel time measurements (Defining vehicle travel time measurement)
Vehicle route closures (Attributes of route closures)
Vehicle routes (partial) (Attributes of partial vehicle routes)
Vehicle partial routing decisions (Attributes of partial vehicle routing decisions)
Vehicle inputs (Modeling vehicle inputs for private transportation)
Pedestrians: only during running simulation: attributes of pedestrians on this link
Blocked vehicle classes for dynamic assignment (Defining the vehicle class)
Edges (evaluation): Attributes of edges of the selected link. (Attributes of edges). The node-edge graph must be created for node evaluation (Generating a node-edge graph).
Edges (dynamic assignment): Edges of turns of the selected link. (Attributes of edges). The node-edge graph must be created for dynamic assignment (Generating a node-edge graph).
Conflict areas (Using conflict areas)
Managed lane routes (Attributes of managed lane routes)
Managed lanes routing decisions (Attributes of managed lanes routing decisions)
Public transport lines (Modeling PT lines)
Partial PT Route (Attributes of partial PT routes)
PT partial routing decisions (Attributes of PT partial routing decisions)
Parking lots (Modeling parking lots)
Parking routes (Attributes of parking routes)
Parking routing decisions (Attributes of parking routing decisions)
Points 3D:
x, y: Coordinates of start point and destination point of the link or connector
Z-offset: Vertical offset > 0.000 along the z-axis relative to the level height
Point: Coordinates x, y and z of the point
Radius: Radius used to calculate the lateral deviation of vehicles exceeding a critical speed at the 3D point (Defining critical speed), (Using lateral drift speed). Default value: empty. If a radius > 0 is entered, Vissim sets the value to 0 in the following cases:
Split link (Splitting links)
Add point (Editing points in links or connectors)
Generate spline (Generating a spline)
Recalculate spline (Recalculating the spline)
Static vehicle routes (Attributes of static vehicle routes)
Static vehicle routing decisions (Attributes of static vehicle routing decisions)
Queue counters (Modeling queue counters)
Link evaluation segments: not for links for which attribute Is pedestrian area has been selected. Segments of link for link evaluation (Showing data from links in lists). Start point, end point and length of each segment on the link in [m].

2. On the list toolbar, in the Relations list, click the desired entry.

3. Enter the desired data.

The data is allocated.

Superordinate topic:

Modeling links for vehicles and pedestrians

Information on editing:

Defining links

Resetting the label position

Splitting links

Generating an opposite lane

Inserting lanes on the left or right

Inverting direction

Using nodes defined from individual link segments