There are a few things that could be done to significantly improve the pedestrian atmosphere on Hespeler Rd., some of what the Grad student suggested are important. For starters, planting trees creates a barrier between traffic and pedestrians. Planting trees in a median also makes the ROW seem narrower, making it seem less intimidating and also slowing traffic down. On street parking is also highly effective for traffic calming, but not really practical with the current urban form in the area.
Consider something like this:
This would segregate local traffic, and create a smaller, safer, and more intimate streetscape for pedestrians. Obviously something like this would have to be scaled. Perhaps one block at a time in the vicinity of somewhere like the Cambridge Centre where the retail on the one side already approaches the roadway, and where there is plenty of space on the other to construct more. The ROW would widen probably on the order of 30ft or so, which would bring the sidewalks to many storefronts, or near them, allowing a wall to begin to develop.
Obviously the likelihood of anything like that happening is slim, but it's interesting to ponder the possibilities for redeveloping suburban ROWs so that they have a more urban appeal.