Lemme whisper in your ear, “The sidewalks are getting redone with paver stones, the intersections are getting raised to sidewalk level, and the bike lanes will connect directly with a larger protected bike lane network and directly to an in-progress new automated light metro station that will have 2.5-minute headways.”
What’s the benefit of paver sidewalks? I would think they’d be harder to keep clear of snow, like I know people with brick/paver drives and they’re less easy to shovel. Plus more points to become unsettled/uneven and have edges come up for tripping. I assume there’s positives I’m missing!
They’ve already installed some in my neighborhood, and they have a very smooth, even surface. Beyond that, I think it’s just an aesthetic thing: create really attractive, pleasant spaces and you’ll attract more pedestrians. And of you’re in a dense neighborhood, the local tax revenues are more than enough to afford nicer surfaces than if you’re having to cover a ton of sprawling suburbia.
Awesome! I just got back from Montreal. The impression we (Europeans) got was that it’s pretty car-centric and the nicest parts of the city are used for parking lots, but it’s better than, say, Toronto. Nice to hear it’s improving.