How wide should my garage driveway approach be in a Fredericton NB subdivision?

For a typical Fredericton subdivision, a garage driveway approach should be 10–12 feet wide for a single-car garage and 18–24 feet wide for a double-car garage at the point where it meets the street.

These widths refer specifically to the approach — the section of driveway between the street curb and your property line — which is often regulated separately from the driveway on your own lot. In Fredericton, the City controls the curb cut (the lowered section of curb that allows vehicles to cross the sidewalk), and you'll need a driveway access permit from the City of Fredericton before any work is done in the right-of-way. This is separate from your building permit for the garage itself.

Curb Cut and Right-of-Way Rules

The City of Fredericton typically limits residential curb cuts to a maximum width of 6 metres (roughly 20 feet) in most residential zones, though this can vary by street classification and lot width. If your lot is on a narrower street or in an older subdivision with tight setbacks, the City may restrict you further. The approach must also maintain a minimum distance from the corner of an intersection — usually 6–9 metres — to preserve sightlines. Before you finalize your garage design, contact Fredericton's Development and Infrastructure Services to confirm the permitted curb cut width for your specific address. This one phone call can save you from designing a garage door layout that the City won't allow you to access properly from the street.

Driveway Width on Your Property

Once you're past the right-of-way and onto your own lot, you have more flexibility, but there are still practical minimums worth knowing. A single-car driveway should be at least 10 feet wide for comfortable use, though 12 feet is much better for getting in and out without clipping the edges — especially important in Fredericton winters when snowbanks narrow the usable width by 1–2 feet on each side. A double-car driveway should be 20–24 feet wide to allow two vehicles to park side by side with comfortable door-opening clearance. Many Fredericton homeowners go to 24 feet specifically because of winter — that extra width gives you somewhere to push snow without blocking the approach entirely.

Flaring the Approach

A common and practical design choice is to flare the driveway — keeping it narrower at the street (to meet the curb cut permit width) and widening it as it approaches the garage. For example, an 18-foot curb cut can flare out to a 24-foot apron in front of a double garage door. This gives you maximum maneuverability in front of the garage while staying within the City's right-of-way limits. The flare also helps with snow storage in winter, which matters a great deal in Fredericton where you can realistically expect to move snow from that apron 30–40 times per season.

Practical Tips

Make sure the driveway approach slopes away from the garage at a minimum of 2% grade (about 1 inch per foot) to drain water and snowmelt away from your foundation. Fredericton's spring thaw brings significant melt water, and a flat or back-sloped apron will funnel that water directly toward your slab. If your lot has a significant grade change between the street and the garage, discuss drainage solutions with your contractor before the concrete is poured — correcting drainage after the fact is expensive.

For the apron surface itself, concrete is the preferred choice in Fredericton's freeze-thaw climate. Use a minimum 4,000 PSI air-entrained concrete mix — the air entrainment is critical for surviving NB's repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Asphalt is cheaper upfront but softens in summer heat and requires sealing every 3–5 years. Interlocking pavers look great but can shift with frost heave if the base isn't properly prepared to below frost depth.

When to hire a pro: The curb cut and right-of-way portion of the approach must be done by a contractor approved to work in the City's right-of-way — this is not a DIY project. The driveway on your property is more DIY-friendly for forming and finishing, but concrete work in NB's climate rewards experience. Find local concrete and driveway contractors through the New Brunswick Construction Network at newbrunswickconstructionnetwork.com.