I never thought about Davenport like that. I think the treatment it was given was appropriate and well-done, but you're absolutely right that it could be much like Union one day, a truly beautiful street. What a nice thought.
My understanding is that local collector is the designation for the types of streets we're talking about. I think they could be slowed, too- if a motorist is not traveling many kilometres, there's little difference in travel times between 30 and 50 km/h, but that difference is big in terms of safety and quality of life.
Edit: here is the map of road classifications City of Waterloo. I can't really see any "local roads" that need 50km/h+ speed limits preserved.
My understanding is that local collector is the designation for the types of streets we're talking about. I think they could be slowed, too- if a motorist is not traveling many kilometres, there's little difference in travel times between 30 and 50 km/h, but that difference is big in terms of safety and quality of life.
Edit: here is the map of road classifications City of Waterloo. I can't really see any "local roads" that need 50km/h+ speed limits preserved.