link table structure

The Links table holds all the links available in the road network regardless of the modes allowed on it.

All information on the fields node_a and node_b correspond to a entries in the node field in the node table. They are automatically managed with triggers as the user edits the network, but they are not protected by manual editing, which would break the network if it were to happen.

The toll_counterpart field is used to match tolled links (usually lanes) to non-tolled counterparts so that speed or density characteristics of these non-tolled links can be used to inform toll price. This is especially used in the context of managed lanes.

The fields length, bearing_a, bearing_b, node_a and node_b are automatically updated by triggers based in the links’ geometries and node positions.

The field grade has been manually computed based on the Z field for nodes and it is measured in radians from node_a to node_b. The spatialite formula for it is: Atan2(“length”, (Select z from node where node=node_a)-(Select z from node where node=node_b))

The table is indexed on link (its primary key), node_a and node_b.

Table Structure

Field	Type	NULL allowed	Default Value	Foreign key	Description
link*	INTEGER	NO			Unique identifier of the bidirectional link
name	TEXT	YES	‘’		Optional name for the segment “5th Avenue”
node_a	INTEGER	NO	0	Node(node_a)	One of the nodes that the links connects to. Upstream (downstream) node of the link of the unidirectional link AB (BA)
node_b	INTEGER	NO	0	Node(node_b)	Another node of the nodes that the links connects to. Downstream (upstream) node of the link of the unidirectional link BA (AB)
length	REAL	YES	0		link length in Meters (set by POLARIS),
setback_a	REAL	YES	0
setback_b	REAL	YES	0
bearing_a	INTEGER	NO	0
bearing_b	INTEGER	NO	0
type	TEXT	NO	‘OTHER’	Link_Type(type)	Road type of the link default is OTHER. Refer to Link_Type for a complete list
area_type	INTEGER	NO	100	Area_Type(area_type)
use	TEXT	NO	‘ANY’		Not currently used by POLARIS
grade	REAL	YES	0		Not currently used by POLARIS
lanes_ab	INTEGER	NO	0		number of lanes of the unidirectional link from node a to node b
fspd_ab	REAL	YES	0		free flow speed of the unidirectional link from node a to node b
cap_ab	INTEGER	NO	0		capacity in vehicles/hour of the link from node a to node b (used only if higher than default for the scenario),
lanes_ba	INTEGER	NO	0		number of lanes of the unidirectional link from node b to node a
fspd_ba	REAL	YES	0		free flow speed of the unidirectional link from node b to node a
cap_ba	INTEGER	NO	0		capacity in vehicles/hour of the link from node a to node b (used only if higher than default for the scenario)
toll_counterpart	INTEGER	YES			the link modeling a HOT/HOV lane that runs in parallel with the link if existent
geo	LINESTRING	NO	‘’

(* - Primary key)

The SQL statement for table and index creation is below.

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS "Link" (
 "link"              INTEGER UNIQUE  NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
 "name"              TEXT                     DEFAULT '',
 "node_a"            INTEGER         NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 "node_b"            INTEGER         NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 "length"            REAL                     DEFAULT 0,
 "setback_a"         REAL                     DEFAULT 0,
 "setback_b"         REAL                     DEFAULT 0,
 "bearing_a"         INTEGER         NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 "bearing_b"         INTEGER         NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 "type"              TEXT            NOT NULL DEFAULT 'OTHER',
 "area_type"         INTEGER         NOT NULL DEFAULT 100,
 "use"               TEXT            NOT NULL DEFAULT 'ANY',
 "grade"             REAL                     DEFAULT 0,
 "lanes_ab"          INTEGER         NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 "fspd_ab"           REAL                     DEFAULT 0,
 "cap_ab"            INTEGER         NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 "lanes_ba"          INTEGER         NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 "fspd_ba"           REAL                     DEFAULT 0,
 "cap_ba"            INTEGER         NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 "toll_counterpart"  INTEGER,

 CONSTRAINT "type_fk" FOREIGN KEY("type") REFERENCES "Link_Type"("link_type") DEFERRABLE INITIALLY DEFERRED,
 CONSTRAINT "area_type_fk" FOREIGN KEY("area_type") REFERENCES "Area_Type"("area_type") DEFERRABLE INITIALLY DEFERRED,
 CONSTRAINT "node_a_fk" FOREIGN KEY("node_a") REFERENCES "Node"("node") DEFERRABLE INITIALLY DEFERRED,
 CONSTRAINT "node_b_fk" FOREIGN KEY("node_b") REFERENCES "Node"("node") DEFERRABLE INITIALLY DEFERRED
);

SELECT AddGeometryColumn( 'Link', 'geo', SRID_PARAMETER, 'LINESTRING', 'XY', 1);
SELECT CreateSpatialIndex( 'Link' , 'geo' );

create INDEX IF NOT EXISTS link_node_a_idx ON link (node_a);
create INDEX IF NOT EXISTS link_link ON link (link);
create INDEX IF NOT EXISTS link_node_b_idx ON link (node_b);