Better Streets MKE, Vol. 12

A few reflections

This past Saturday I returned from New York City, where I spent a week split between vacation and the Vision Zero Cities conference. A close friend of mine has lived in Brooklyn for a number of years, and I make semi-annual visits. I visited for the first time when I was 14. My dad took my sister and me to Midtown, and I remember walking around Central Park in a hideous green puffy jacket. We saw a show on Broadway (I think Les Miserables), but what I remember most of all was being in a throng of people crossing on the street. My sister, who is brave and thoughtful and smart in many of the ways I am not, hated it. But I felt the way I always do when I visit New York: like I had finally come home.

When I first moved to Milwaukee in March 2022, I felt that way, too. I had decided to move to Milwaukee on a whim; I was in my new apartment three weeks later. The only other place I considered moving was New York, but my frugal brain won out. That spring, I took long walks to watch Lake Michigan and the Menomonee River glisten under a frosty sun. I talked with random people at bus stops and in bars about what they loved and hated about Milwaukee, about their philosophies of how this place moves.

I share this because I try to keep alive my sense of wonder and love for Milwaukee. Milwaukee makes my heart burst open because so many things have fallen into place for me here. That’s why I fight for it. It is a strange place to be a transplant, as a part of my adoration for this place is that so many people here know it so well, know its history in ways I never experienced in transient, almost history-less Madison. I feel that the only way to be a “good” transplant here is to love this place deeply.

But sometimes, I am tired. I don’t feel that I have the right to be tired: I haven’t been doing the work of safer streets particularly long. But small things have been gnawing at me. I’m tired of elected officials who rely on “town halls” to “make your voice heard” rather than grow a damn backbone and make a choice. I’m tired of American cities being designed for consumption and convenience rather than connection and community. I’m sick of every improvement feeling like a battle, of feeling like I am constantly teetering on the edge of losing small improvements but am only managing not to because I happen to know “so-and-so.” And I am exhausted by how empty our streets are, after the life of New York. My friend’s residential neighborhood in Clinton Hill was not so different from where I live, except instead of parking lots on every single side of her building, she has more neighbors, and a diner, and a Thai place. One block of a road was shut off to through-traffic. A hundred kids watched a movie outside in their schoolyard in the evening, every word audible due to slow, minimal car traffic. People asked me for directions, popped out of the subway, hopped on the bus.

Towards the end of my trip, I spent time walking and biking in The Bronx, which is home to the country’s poorest congressional district. Manhattan’s reasonably-okay, quick-build bike infrastructure gave way to The Bronx’s more chaotic traffic, limited transit access, and reduced Citibike stations. I walked with disabled activists who are suing because a sidewalk has been inaccessible for years as people have used the pedestrian space for car parking. The NYPD does that too, of course. After wandering through Manhattan and Brooklyn, The Bronx felt like transitioning back to Milwaukee.

There is so much good happening to keep people alive on our streets. But sometimes I think that the most important thing we can do is get ourselves out there, again and again and again, and be a part of making the city a bit more alive. If you are reading this, keep helping to push it along. Go for a walk. We all deserve so much more. - MM

Upcoming Events

Critical Mass

A (fun!) monthly no-drop bike ride, with a fabulous website. Rolling out 6:00 pm sharp and ending at Ivanhoe Plaza this month.

Friday, October 27th, 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
Bublr station at Red Arrow Park

MKE Winter Bike Party

Think chilly weather means you can’t get on two wheels? Nah…embrace the winter! Attend the MKE Winter Bike Party to learn how to manage the season. Geared toward new and old winter cyclists with knowledge stations, raffle prizes and motivation to get those pedals moving during colder weather months.

Friday, November 10th, 2023
5 - 8 pm
Wheel and Sprocket (Bay View)
187 E Becher Street
Transit: 15, GRE, 54, 53
Bublr station at Wheel and Sprocket

I-794 Lake Interchange Town Hall

Think recovering acres of land for the city from the heart of Milwaukee’s Third Ward (making way for housing, parks, and more) would be a great idea? We encourage you to go to this Town Hall and share the facts. Note: None of the plans would remove the Hoan. Here at Better Streets MKE, we strongly endorse either of the full removal of I-794 options. Learn more about the project here.

Monday, October 30th, 2023
5:30 - 6:30 pm
South Milwaukee City Administrative Building
2424 15th Ave, South Milwaukee
Transit: 15 (with walking)
Not far from the Oak Leaf Trail

Urban Spaceship Conference

The Urban Spaceship Conference, a day-long national urbanism conference, is back! The conference explores the intersection of people and place and does a deep dive on top trends, and future ideas in urbanism.

Better Streets MKE will be emceeing SOUP! We received some truly inspiring projects, and we can’t wait for you to see them pitch. Please purchase a SOUP ticket so you can be a part of funding community-led projects in Milwaukee!

Tuesday, November 14th, 2023
8 am to 6 pm
Wheel and Sprocket (Bay View)
187 E Becher Street
Transit: 15, GRE, 54, 53
Bublr station at Wheel and Sprocket

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, November 17th, 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 Wells St.

World Day of Remembrance

The Coalition for Safe Driving MKE is hosting a World Day of Remembrance vigil for victims of traffic violence at All Saints Catholic Church. The vigil will remember those lost to or injured by taffic violence, and stand in solidarity with those impacted by reckless driving. All are welcome. To honor loved ones or speak at the vigil, contact Danitra at (414) 444-8204.

Sunday, November 19th, 2023
11:30 am to 1:30 pm
All Saints Catholic Church
4051 N 25th St, Milwaukee
Transit: RED, PUR, 19

Santa Cycle Rampage

The world's largest holiday themed costume group bicycle ride for charity. Lots of Santas and lots of fun, benefiting the Wisconsin Bike Fed’s advocacy and education programs! The ride can also be joined from Hollander Grand Cafe on Downer Ave. Registration required here.

Saturday, December 2nd, 2023
Rolling out 9:30 am sharp
Bike Fed Office
187 E. Becher St.
Transit: 54, 15, GRE, 53
Bublr station just outside the Bike Fed Office

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.

Kinnickinnic River Trail Connections

The final proposed designs for the project are now available. The project proposes improvements to connect two different areas of the KK River Trail (KKRT) to existing and future parts of the Milwaukee bicycle network. At a high level, it includes:

• An on-street protected bike lane from the off-street KKRT segment at 1st St and Lincoln to the off-street segment at 1st St and Maple.
• A Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon (RRFB) and bump-outs at the 1st St and Maple intersection.
• A two-way cycle track (Milwaukee’s first?) on S Water St from National Ave to Pittsburgh Ave.
• An on-street protected bike lane on Pittsburgh Ave to create a connection to the Hank Aaron Trail on Freshwater Way. Pittsburgh Ave is being reduced from four lanes lanes of traffic to two.
• Closing a slip lane at 1st and Pittsburgh.
• An on-street protected bike lane on Young St and Menomonee St to Jefferson St to connect to the future protected bike infrastructure on Jefferson St.

The exact types of protection are not yet decided. The intersection at 1st and Maple  looks difficult even with the improvements, it would be helpful to consider reducing crossing distance further. DPW is still taking comments on the project site.

Kinnickinnic River Greenway between 6th-16th Street

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is improving flood management along the Kinnickinnic River and this project will include a multi-use path that extends the Kinnickinnic River Trail. More information is available here.

Lapham has bike lanes?

In Milwaukee’s most, “huh?” news, apparently Lapham (6th-16th ish) now has buffered bike lanes, similar to Kilbourn and Lincoln Ave’s. Did…you know about that?

We’re jesting (it’s nice to be surprised!), but there are a few points of concern. We’re glad to have a project on the south side that’s substantial in length, but for areas that are less used to these changes, we’re concerned that there was not enough initial engagement/education (Reddit is an unscientific source), and that sometimes our city’s rapid designs are not intuitive enough for drivers and residents to understand. There’s been some confusion about why this project happened, or where people are supposed to turn or park. We’ve biked the project, and as cyclists, we felt comfortable, but Milwaukee’s quick-build designs aren’t as good as some other cities. For people who bike all the time or think about streets, it can seem obvious, but if you have never encountered a street design like this, in-context education and visual cues are somewhat missing from city projects like Lapham. While the street changes are good, it might be an unfortunate miss by the city, given how the south side needs safer infrastructure, but messing up engagement and education on one project can force a future backlash.

We’d like to see the city implement (and communicate) data collection before and after projects, as well as actively educate after implementation. That means signage, some paint, better placement of flex posts, and in-context communication (signage with information like: what percentage of people do not drive? How many crashes happened here? Why is the bike lane wide? What is a curb extension? etc.).

Walnut Street

One of the more exciting connections is a possible safe east-west route for cyclists that doesn’t require going down to the Hank Aaron State Trail. Walnut Street has been under construction from 20th to 12th Streets, building Milwaukee’s first substantive fully-separated raised bike lanes. The bike lane will have a grass terrace between it and the car lane, as well as another grass terrace between it and the sidewalk. Most intersections are raised to sidewalk level. It’s a sign of Milwaukee improving its designs after designs like those on Bay and Becher were tested.

But it gets better! The city is also installing a protected bike lane from 12th to Vel Phillips, and we hear that this will also connect to Water Street. A-woo-hoo?

Brady Street

The Brady Street BID appears to have backtracked on its interest in trying out the initially agreed-upon street changes to make the street safer for people walking. (Multiple people have been hit and killed or injured on Brady while walking in just the past year). So far, the city repainted a segment of Brady, which was supposed to be complemented with large, heavy planters in the street. The BID wants to remove all of the new painting and instead install stop signs. The planters appear to have been purchased but have not yet been used or tested.

A Better Brady Street is a community group that has formed to support changes to Brady, including a potential pedestrianization/transit-way. If you want to get involved with A Better Brady Street, they are meeting weekly on Tuesday evenings. Shoot them an email for more info!

Van Buren Street

DPW and Aldermen Bauman and Brostoff hosted a (final?) design meeting for the Van Buren Street Transformation Project. Construction is slated for next year. The City is doing a lot with relatively little on this project. So what to expect?

• (Probably) a 2-way cycle track along the eastern side of the street. The bike lanes should be protected by some concrete, but specifics are TBD. The 2-way cycle track is Milwaukee’s first (we think?) and will save money and reduce driveway conflicts, as well as making plowing easier. Inflation has put stress on limited budgets, so we’re open to seeing if the two-way bike lane works well. It will save money for better improvements at intersections and more concrete.
• Improved transit stops including bus bulbs, which allow buses to stop and not have re-enter traffic
• Two-way-ing Van Buren (which again, benefits transit, as well as other users)
• Improved pedestrian facilities including curb extensions

Overall, it’s a pretty solid local project. But keep an eye on the details, and let’s hope contractors get it right.

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
• Van Buren Street Transformation

Surveys

• Milwaukee County Multimodal Survey
• WisDOT Active Transportation Plan 2050