podcast 223 - Roadway (Custom Kerb)

Of all the roads available in Vectorworks, this is the most flexible.

1508 - Roading in Vectorworks

This manual is the last manual on the series on site modelling on site modifying because the roading tools quite often used as site modifiers. Don't forget to refer to the previous two month's manuals (1506 and 1507) for more information on site modelling. This manual looks specifically at the six different roadway tools:

Roadway (Tee)
Roadway (Straight)
Roadway (Curved)
The Roadway (NURBS)
Roadway (Custom Kerb)
Roadway (Poly)
The last two tools are very powerful and most of the manual will focus on those.

The roading tools in Vectorworks are not designed to let you to become a road designer. They are there to allow you to add writing to your concept drawings, but they do not have sophisticated roading controls such as camber, tilt, roundabouts, etc.
The roading tools will allow you to draw a large range of road designs, and the road objects can be site modifies. If you need a refresher on-site modifiers for networks, look at the manual 1507 Site Modifiers. You do not need to use a site model if you want to draw a road, you can draw roads without it.
To refresh your memory, there are normally two parts a site modifier and a grade limits. When you create a road, you have the choice to Use Site Modifiers and a separate choice to Use Grade Limit.

Find the manual here...

Vectorworks Tip #260 - Site Modeling - Site Modifiers - Align Stations

When you place a road, there is an option to send the station to the surface of the site model. But when you do that, the road might have some steep slopes as it follows the site. Aligning the stations vertically allows you to smooth out the slopes in the road. You can choose which stations are aligned on the settings dialog box.

Vectorworks Tip #256 - Site Modeling - Site Modifiers - Custom Kerb

This is the road to use when you what to create a road and have flexibility over the shape and kerb arrangement. This road allows you to use the Reshape tool to add vertices, hide kerbs and change vertex types. In the image you can see that the road is not a uniform width.

Vectorworks Tip #252 - Site Modeling - Site Modifiers - Polygon Road

The Polygon Road tool is the road tool to use if you want to create a road that has the typical straight-curve-straight road look. Because this is a polygon road, you can reshape the curve accurately using the Reshape tool.

Vectorworks Tip #244 - Site Modelling - Site Modifiers - Roads Concept

Roads can be used as a site modifier. On the Object Info palette are options to make the road a site modifier, add the Grade Limits, and the set the offset for the Grade Limit.