Better Streets MKE, Vol. 11
Happy Autumn
Do you or someone you know want to join Milwaukee’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee?
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee is an official city committee formed last year that advises the City on how to improve the experience of pedestrians and bicyclists in the city. The only requirement is to be a resident of the city. The committee is limited to advising elected officials on prospective nominations and any nominations will ultimately be decided by an alderperson. If you are interested in working to improve the city’s policies and infrastructure, please fill out the application here.
Upcoming Events
Brady Street Crosswalk Actions
Support the businesses, workers, and neighbors of Brady Street by bringing attention to pedestrian rights and safety!
Thursday, September 7th and Wednesday, September 13th
5:30-6:30pm
Brady Street and Franklin Place
Transit: GRE, 14, 30
Thursday, September 21st and September 28th
5:30 - 6:30pm
Brady Street and Arlington Place
Transit: GRE, 14, 30
Growing MKE
The City is currently working on an updating to its zoning code, with the goal of increasing housing choice and growth. As part of these outreach efforts, the team is hosting Open House-style presentations as well as Office Hours at local libraries. For a full list of events, see Growing MKE . There is also an online survey available until September 15th here.
Open Houses
Thursday, September 7th
3 - 6pm
Bay View Library
2566 S Kinnickinnic Ave
Transit: 15, GRE
Community Events
Saturday, September 9th
3 - 6pm
Silver City InterNational Festival
West National Avenue between 33rd Street and 35th Street
Transit: 18, 35
Bublr Bash
Bublr's Annual Bublr Bash is their major fundraising event each year. Come support your local nonprofit bikeshare system and help ensure that Bublr can continue providing a world-class bikeshare system! Register here.
Thursday, September 14th, 2023
4:30 to 7:30 pm
Discovery World
500 N Harbor Dr Milwaukee
Transit: Hop
Bublr station adjacent to venue
Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee
Meetings are open to the public and held on the third Friday of the month. You can sign up for updates on meetings and agendas via e-Notify.
Friday, September 15th, 2023
8:30 to 10 am
Hybrid
Zeidler Municipal Building, 5th floor
Virtual Meeting link
Transit: 15, 18, 57, GRE
3 blocks or less from the 14, 19, 30, 33, and CN1.
Bublr station on Van Buren St. near Water St.
Bike Fed 35th Birthday Party
Join the Bike Fed to celebrate 35 years of making bicycling more convenient, safe, accessible, and fun! Cookout, drinks, games and live 80’s music. Kids of all ages are welcome! Register here.
Friday, September 15th, 2023
5 to 10 pm
187 E Becher St, Milwaukee
Transit: 54, 15, GRE, 53
Bublr station adjacent to venue
Critical Mass
A (fun!) monthly no-drop bike ride, with a fabulous website. Rolling out 6:00 pm sharp.
Friday, September 29th, 2023
Rolling out 6:00 pm sharp
Red Arrow Park
920 N Water St
Transit: GREEN, 15, Hop, 57, 18, 33, 19, 30, CN1, 14
Eyes on Projects
Psst - we don’t cover every project in every volume of this newsletter if there is no major new information. Check out previous newsletters for more updates about projects.
Mapping Milwaukee’s Bike Network
The number of street projects announced and being constructed has been hard to keep track of. With the help of Milwaukee resident Cade Gerlach, we have begun mapping both the current and future trails and protected bike lanes. The map is still very much a work in progress and many of the projects are years out from construction, but a safe bicycle network is beginning to form in Milwaukee. If we’re missing something or you see a mistake, let us know!
Here, “all ages and abilities” specifically refers to facilities that would feel comfortable for most hesitant riders, including children and seniors. An example is the separated and raised path being constructed along Walnut. Protected facilities means those that are a step up from a simple on-street painted lane, but are of lower protection quality. An example is the parking-protected, paint-and-post Kilbourn lane. All ages and abilities facilities cost substantially more and take longer to implement (usually as a part of an existing construction project), whereas protected facilities can be implemented quickly (for example, the North Ave lanes funded by the BID). Protected lanes can be a goal in and of themselves, or be a transitional period before an all ages and abilities improvement.
I-43 Becher Street Interchange
WisDOT is beginning a project to improve the intersection of I-43 and Becher Street. The project is currently proposed to include a road diet from two lanes in each direction to one. It will also eliminate the rather confusing “scissor interchange” in which the ramps cross back and forth with 4th Street and 5th Street with a more traditional design.
The City added a raised bike lane to the east of the interchange recently, and MMSD will be building a path underneath the freeway this year as part of their Becher Street Overpass project. This project does not yet propose including protected bike infrastructure, but it should to create a safe connection existing work.
To share your thoughts, please email WisDOT (this link will open your e-mail client). For more information, see the project website.
Sherman Park Boulevard
A project to re-design Sherman Boulevard between Capital Drive and North Avenue has just begun. The first information meeting was held last week, and another one is scheduled in early 2024. To sign up for updates, review materials from the meeting and see other information about the project, visit improveshermanblvd.com. To leave feedback now, go to the EngageMKE site for the project.
Curious about a project? Check out Engage MKE
There are many road projects happening in Milwaukee. To learn more about them, check out Engage MKE. This resource is a good place to start for understanding the major projects occurring in Milwaukee. Projects include:
- Lisbon Avenue
- Oklahoma Avenue Multimodal Improvements
- National Avenue
- Edgewood Avenue
- Cesar Chavez Safe Routes to Transit
- Burleigh Safe Routes to Transit
- Sherman Boulevard
