Widen Sidewalk on Front Street

Currently, Front Street completely prioritizes car travel with wide open lanes and a significant amount of on street parking. Front Street is a very pedestrian heavy area, and the sidewalks do not reflect this, often being only a couple feet wide when passing hydro poles and firehydrants. If the sidewalks are widened by 2-3 feet, then there can still be a parking lane while greatly improving the walkability of the neighborhood and local businesses. This would have multiple benefits:

• Natural traffic calming due to parked cars appearing closer to moving cars, increasing the perception of speed. (Additionally, reduced noise from vehicle speed)
• Wider sidewalks allowing more pedestrians to walk at once. In particular, the stretch between parliament and sherbourne is quite narrow.
• Additional space for planting street-side trees, and flower beds, reducing the head island effect and further reducing noise.
• Local businesses may be able to use some sidewalk space for outdoor seating.