Downtown outdoor spaces

[danbrotherston]

I somehow missed it the first time through, but the same page the plan view came from also has a street section showing a 3.0 metre sidewalk on each side, and vehicle lanes of 3.1 metres with mountable curbs. The interesting part of this is that earlier in the report it suggests the minimum width for snow clearing equipment is 3.4 metres. I'm guessing the curb design makes the difference. Either way, it is good to see wide sidewalks and narrowing of the vehicle lanes in downtown.

That is interesting they mention that.  I know the region and the city has different standards, it is highly unlikely the region would build such a road even in such a contextually appropriate location.

I don't believe the snowplows are actually 3.4 meters wide, i.e., I believe they will actually fit down a 3.1 meter wide road, it is more an issue of the speed at which they can travel safely, without risking entering the oncoming lane.  I speculate that narrowing the road "increases costs" because plows will have to drive more slowly.  But that's a bit silly here given that the road is already going to limit speeds.

I suspect you are right the curb design makes it more palatable to the engineers as well.