Provo's Transportation Mobility Advisory Committee on Oct. 23 recommended that the city not advance a proposed amendment to remove the 24-foot asphalt pavement width from the Provo City Code until additional information is provided.

The change under consideration would eliminate an option that allows local public streets with projected average daily traffic below 400 trips to be built with 24 feet of asphalt (about 27 feet curb-to-curb), a standard that currently typically allows on-street parking on only one side. Staff said the council had asked whether the 24-foot option should be removed so developers would instead build 30-foot asphalt sections that allow parking on both sides.

Committee members said the issue affects safety, utilities and housing costs. "We have a layout of how the utilities fit, and this is by far our most challenging road width," said David Day, the staff presenter, describing water lines close to curbs, sewer mains near the center of the pavement, and limited planter area for gas, power and communications lines. "This is challenging."

TMAC members also cited trade-offs: narrower pavements can calm vehicle speeds and support lower housing-construction costs, while wider pavements can increase on-street parking but may worsen sight-distance issues and complicate utility access. Committee member Alex (last name not specified in the record) read a recommended statement for the record that said in part: "Smaller streets likely make building housing more affordable, and the slower speed of traffic is a benefit for safety." The committee asked the council to consider the motivation for the proposed change and to seek input from residents who live on streets built to the 24-foot standard.

Technical details and points the committee asked the council to address included:
- The 24-foot asphalt width is allowed only on streets projected to carry fewer than 400 average daily trips.
- A 24-foot asphalt pavement corresponds to roughly 27 feet measured face of curb to face of curb, and typically requires signing to prohibit parking on one side.
- Staff reported constraints for utilities at the 24-foot width: water lines can be very close to curb faces, sewer mains may run near the centerline, and communications/power/gas often must fit in narrow planters.
- Committee members referenced a separate requirement imposed by fire code/local fire marshal guidance that effectively requires a traversable surface near 32 feet in some contexts; bulb-outs and intersection geometry also differ between the 24- and 30-foot sections.

The committee did not take a final legislative action to change the code itself. Instead TMAC passed a motion to forward its recommendation and the committee's concerns to the Planning Commission and the Municipal Council and to ask the council to request specific information before deciding on the code change. The motion as read for the record said TMAC "does not feel comfortable advancing this proposal" given the current information and invited the council to seek input from residents of streets where the design already exists. The committee voted in favor; individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the meeting transcript.

TMAC suggested the council consider targeted information requests before acting: the specific safety problems the change is intended to solve; whether parking demands could be addressed by other zoning or off-street-parking requirements; detailed utility-layout impacts; and whether eliminating the 24-foot option would materially change housing costs or supply. Staff indicated the topic will go to Planning Commission and then to the Municipal Council as a separate, more thoroughly considered item during the annual standards update.

The committee emphasized it was not opposed to studying the proposal, but asked for clearer problem statements and resident feedback before recommending removal of the 24-foot option.

Provenance: Staff presentation began with the existing code and the 24-foot description; the committee's recommendation language was read into the record later in the meeting.