https://streets.mn/2015/10/27/the-battle ... klyn-park/
Narrowing this set of Brooklyn Park streets by 2' reduced full reconstruction costs (including sewers, curb, gutter) by 3.4%. I'd assume reducing by 8' would be somewhere in the 8-10% reduction (rather than 4*3.4%, since savings diminish the more you reduce as costs like utilities, curbs, setup, design, etc are fixed). Plus, the more you widen the boulevard space the more you're pressured into actually doing something with it (stormwater basin, landscaping it, etc). I wrote a
thing about other options we should maybe consider.
While I agree with Matt on value of my home on a narrow street vs. a wider one, I think we should be careful assigning that mindset to everyone. While I've never met a person who didn't wish cars drove slower on their street, they all seem to like free parking a whole hell of a lot more. They don't know (or care) how much the city would save in stormwater management or plowing costs or regular sealcoating over the next 30 years, since those costs are baked into property taxes (and a very small share at that). But people loooooove the convenience of free parking right out front, for themselves and their guests. Not just rich people in SW or by Nokomis, either - take a look at the comments re: the North Minneapolis Greenway. A typical residential street reconstruction assessment costs a house on a standard lot $4-5k. With interest and spread over 20 years, that's about $250-300 a year. If I'm being honest, most families would easily take the free parking out front for $25/year rather than have a calmer, cheaper, narrower street.