On the Capacity of Future Lane-Free Urban Infrastructure

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Malcolm, Patrick, Bogenberger, Klaus
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Malcolm, Patrick
Bogenberger, Klaus
author_facet Malcolm, Patrick
Bogenberger, Klaus
contents In this paper, the potential capacity and spatial efficiency of future autonomous lane-free traffic in urban environments are explored using a combination of analytical and simulation-based approaches. For lane-free roadways, a simple analytical approach is employed, which shows not only that lane-free traffic offers a higher capacity than lane-based traffic for the same street width, but also that the relationship between capacity and street width is continuous under lane-free traffic. To test the potential capacity and properties of lane-free signal-free intersections (automated intersection management), two approaches were simulated and compared, including a novel approach which we call OptWULF. This approach uses a multi-agent conflict-based search approach with a low-level planner that uses a combination of optimization and simple window-based reservation. With these simulations, we confirm the continuous relationship between capacity and street width for intersection scenarios. We also show that OptWULF results in an even utilization of the entire drivable area of the street and intersection area. Furthermore, we show that OptWULF is capable of handling asymmetric demand patterns without any substantial loss in capacity compared to symmetric demand patterns.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_19952
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the Capacity of Future Lane-Free Urban Infrastructure
Malcolm, Patrick
Bogenberger, Klaus
Systems and Control
In this paper, the potential capacity and spatial efficiency of future autonomous lane-free traffic in urban environments are explored using a combination of analytical and simulation-based approaches. For lane-free roadways, a simple analytical approach is employed, which shows not only that lane-free traffic offers a higher capacity than lane-based traffic for the same street width, but also that the relationship between capacity and street width is continuous under lane-free traffic. To test the potential capacity and properties of lane-free signal-free intersections (automated intersection management), two approaches were simulated and compared, including a novel approach which we call OptWULF. This approach uses a multi-agent conflict-based search approach with a low-level planner that uses a combination of optimization and simple window-based reservation. With these simulations, we confirm the continuous relationship between capacity and street width for intersection scenarios. We also show that OptWULF results in an even utilization of the entire drivable area of the street and intersection area. Furthermore, we show that OptWULF is capable of handling asymmetric demand patterns without any substantial loss in capacity compared to symmetric demand patterns.
title On the Capacity of Future Lane-Free Urban Infrastructure
topic Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.19952