Canal Street
Canal Street in New Orleans is the widest street in the United States.
But it was not built that wide for traffic reasons.
At one time, this area was the “neutral ground” of New Orleans – the area that separated the French section of the city from the American section of the city. It was a large area that was like a park, with grass and trees. Then, a plan was formed to build a canal on this land that would lead from the Mississippi River to the Basin Canal (which has now been filled in.)
The Canal Street canal was never built, and eventually a street, named Canal Street, was built with a huge area in between the two roadways.