Cycling in Waterloo Region

[danbrotherston]

That must have been envisioned as a major artery at some time in the long-distant past?

Yes.  As is the case for most of the overly wide roads in town.

Not necessarily.

In the 60's the prevailing belief was that any road beyond a cul-de-sac should be four lanes.  You can see this in neighbourhoods like Westheights where residential streets like Westheights Dr. were constructed at four lanes. This was never planned to be some grand artery, it's just in the 60's and 70's the belief was all roads should be 4 lanes (does that sound familiar from some beliefs today?).

Of course, some other examples like Benton and Belmont were part of grand plans that never came to fruition.  I am not certain which category Dixon fits under, but there definitely are examples of both in the city.