I think one key piece was missed in your reply. The wiki itself says:

“The scope of this tag may overlap with highway=footway, which is generally used for narrower, often unnamed, pedestrian pathways and sidewalks. The distinction between the two may be region-specific.”

That line explicitly allows for regional/contextual flexibility. In this case the city’s GIS treats the way as a street and properties use it as an address, so it behaves like a named public street rather than an unnamed path. 