Creating a car park

If you want to define a perpendicular parking lot or a diagonal parking lot containing several parallel parking spaces in the network editor in just a few steps, you can create a car park. This is done in several steps:

  • First, define the size of the car park in the network editor and thus determine the number of parking spaces (Creating a car park in the network editor and defining attributes). This is possible on an existing link or a new link.
  • Then the Create car park window opens automatically and you define attribute values for drive aisle and parking spaces (Car park attributes). If there is no link in the opposite direction but it is necessary, you can select when setting the attributes that this link will be created and parking lots will also be created on its side. You can also specify for the link in the opposite direction that vehicles reach the parking spaces from both directions.

  • Vissim creates all necessary network objects and parking lot conflict handling. Then you need to move the parking routing decision to the desired position upstream of the car park (Positioning parking routing decisions of car parks).

Vissim prioritizes vehicles in car parks (Prioritization of vehicles in car parks).

Vissim creates necessary network objects

Once you have defined the size of the car park in the network editor and defined the attributes in the Create car park window and confirmed them, Vissim will define the necessary network objects. The following applies:

  • A single-lane link for each parking space
  • Connectors for parking from the drive aisle to the link in the parking space as well as connectors for backing out of parking lots. The number of connectors that Vissim inserts depends on the following factors:
  • Parking rate: If the Parking rate (reverse) and the Parking rate (forward) is > 0% and <100%, Vissim will create a connector for each direction for both parking and backing out of parking lots. If one of the parking rates is 0%, Vissim does not create a connector for parking and a connector for backing out of parking lots for this direction. If one of the parking rates is 100%, Vissim does not create a connector for parking and a connector for backing out of parking lots in the other direction. Only select a Parking rate of 100% if you are sure that you will not change this at any time in the future, as it will not be possible to create all the necessary connectors and define the attributes.
  • Opposite direction: If the drive aisle also has a link that runs in the opposite direction and the Generate opposite direction attribute is selected in the Create car park window, Vissim also connects the link of the opposite direction with connectors. Vissim adjusts the lane change distance to a fixed value of 50 m and selects the attribute Applies per lane change.
  • If a Parking rate (reverse) is defined, the connector leading to the parking lot link for reverse parking is opposite to the direction of the link of the drive aisle where it starts and where the vehicle stops to back into a parking lot. The attribute Reverse parking is selected for this connector. For reverse parking the graphic parameter Connector (reverse) wireframe color is used. This is dark yellow by default.
  • By default, the connectors on which the vehicle backs into or out of a parking lot have a smaller radius than the connectors on which the vehicle pulls forward into or out of a parking lot.

  • For backing out of a parking lot, upstream connectors are taken into account only, which lead from the parking lot link to the link on which the vehicle wishes to continue its journey and which are not assigned the direction request None. Connectors leading to the parking lot are ignored. Connectors leading to the parking lot or for which the Reverse parking attribute is selected are ignored.

  • For reverse parking, downstream connectors are taken into account only, which lead from the parking lot link to the link on which the vehicle wishes to continue its journey and which are not assigned the direction request All. Connectors leading to the parking lot or for which the Reverse parking attribute is selected are ignored.

  • Reduced speed areas on the connectors that allow you to define the speed for forward parking . You define the speed for leaving a parking lot when you create the car park or in the attribute list Parking Lots with the attributes Speed (forward driving) and Speed (reversing).
  • One parking lot for each parking space Length of parking lot = Length of parking space +1 mm
  • A new routing decision of type Parking Lot for each direction of the drive aisle, if you have selected the attribute value Add new objects for the Parking routing decision main direction and Parking routing decision opposite direction. You must move the routing decisions to the desired upstream position (Positioning parking routing decisions of car parks). These routing decisions must refer to static vehicle routes.
  • Two parking routes for these routing decisions
  • All required conflict areas on the links and connectors. If the car park is also created for the opposite direction on a dead end road with entry and exit, Vissim will allocate the status Undetermined to the conflict areas, for which you can set the status according to your requirements regarding the desired right of way. Vissim allocates the status Passive to the remaining conflict areas.
  • If the drive aisle ends in a dead end in the main direction and in the opposite direction, Vissim generates an additional link for each of the last parking spaces before the end of the car park and an additional connector that the vehicles use to back out of the parking lot into the opposite lane, if only one of the directions ends in a dead end, the vehicles leave the parking lot in the other direction. If a parking space is so close to the end of the dead end that the vehicle cannot back out of the parking space onto the drive aisle, Vissim will extend the link.

When creating a car park in a cul-de-sac where vehicles can reverse in or reverse out, consider locating the last parking spaces far enough from the end of the cul-de-sac so that the drive aisle is still long enough towards the end of the cul-de-sac to allow vehicles to reverse in or reverse out.

During the definition of the objects in the network editor, the Short help is displayed, in which the necessary steps are described. You can show and hide the short help (Becoming familiar with the user interface).

Prioritization of vehicles in car parks

  • Vehicles leaving a parking lot on the link in the parking lot or the connector leading back to the link of the drive aisle
  • Parking vehicles on the link in the parking lot or the connecor leading from the link of the drive aisle to the link in the parking lot
  • Vehicles in the drive aisle in and against the direction of travel, which do not want to park
  • Vehicles in the drive aisle that want to pull forward into a parking space, but are not yet on the connector that leads from the link of the drive aisle to the link in the parking lot. Vehicles in the drive aisle that want to back into a parking space but have not yet shifted into reverse.
  • Vehicles that want to leave the parking lot

Do not add priority rules in the area of connectors that vehicles use for parking or leaving parking lots.