We live in a pretty common place suburban neighbourhood with that standard "hell strip" boulevard (dry and and full sun) (bounded by two driveways, the road and the sidewalk). Each strip gets a town provided tree. Our boulevard's water sucking maple tree died last year and was removed. The stump has been ground down and dug out to close to 2 feet and then refilled with dirt...waiting for a town replacement tree. The town wont replace it till the cooler and wetter conditions of Fall. I am thinking of jumping in and planting one myself. That way I get to have the tree I want out in front of our home. Which JM could I consider that can thrive in a full sun, no supplemental water (after established), next to a residential street in a Canadian zone 5.
Given your zone, I think you have a large selection of maples to play with that could tolerate full sun - though, the reflection of sun/heat from all the pavement may alter that. I think the biggest issue may be how exposed it is to winter winds; is it fairly sheltered, from the north especially, and what direction do the winds typically travel down/up your street, specifically in winter? What maples do you have already, and how well have they done for you? Second issue is, how large is the tree allowed to be (height/width) and how big are you wanting? Pending the answers to those questions, off the top of my head, I think Seiryu might be a good option for several reasons: It grows fast, so that would help offset winter kill/die back (I'd wrap the trunk and branches 1" or larger in diameter with DeWitt tree wrap as a precaution in winter); if it can take full sun for 12+ hrs a day in a Kansas summer, it certainly can tolerate what it would be exposed to there; it gets quite large, and with a broader canopy, it would provide some nice shade on the driveway and sidewalk; and finally, it looks very nice in all 4 seasons. Nuresagi (for deep purple color and elegant leaf shape/form; bigger, but not as large as Seiryu), Summer Gold (golden colour and lovely pink flowers in spring; smaller, more narrow than Seiryu), or a number of the japonicums might also be good choices for you. Maybe Villa Taranto or Beni otake for a strap leaf??
Consider Trompenburg Emperor I Acer shirasawanum 'Palmatifolium' All are considered upright but will need pruning to keep in bounds to avoid truck traffic. And as mentioned all will need water until established. All are cold and heat tolerant, winter wind should not be a problem as mine survived -25F with 35kts wind. They stand up to dry hot pavement. They should be watered in severe drought conditions. Trompenburg and Palmatifolium would be my first choices of the three as they are the two that never loose anything during the hotest summers and coldest winters, where Emperor I is usually trouble free but may suffer little loss of the thinest twings during some of the harshest winters, but always recovers well during the next growing season.
This is a very tough, but also very elegant Japanese maple. Actually a good "beginner's tree" because it's hard to kill! You might also consider the Amur Maple, Acer tataricum ssp ginalla. I seem to remember that both 'Flame' and 'Fire' are Canadian selections, although the former has nothing particular to recommend it in my climate and I've never been able to find the latter. But it's a very pretty small tree, super rustic (zone 2??), great fall colors and showy samaras. -E
A perfect way to sum up this variety! I will add to your great description of "elegant" during the growing season and add to it beautiful during the fall.
From one zone 5-er to another, here's something to consider--- road salt. Does the road ever see road salt in the winter, because JMs don't like it at all. Some sites will say they have moderate salt tolerance, but most seem to say they won't grow well if there's any salt in the soil. I know where we live in zone 5b, those hell strips are usually hit with plowed salty snow at least a few times a year.
Definitely a good point maplemagpie. I decided to leave it to the town to supply and plant the tree and use my monies for JM which will go on our property.
