Newsletter

Better Streets MKE, Vol. 13

Expressing that we are thankful for concrete

Mitchell Henke

— 4 min read
Better Streets MKE, Vol. 13
Members of the Midtown Neighborhood Alliance won SOUP at the Urban Spaceship conference

SOUP Update

At last week’s Urban Spaceship conference, four incredible teams pitched projects to earn the vote — and cash — from attendees. We were thrilled for the Midtown Neighborhood Alliance, who won the pitch competition to support their efforts to promote their neighborhood’s identity and create a sense of community cohesion. Other projects included a picnic area at Pulaski Park, presented by Sixteenth Street Clinics, bus stop benches that honor the late activist Bill Sell from Strong Towns Metro MKE, and an immersive sound-based public art installation from Mitchell Street Arts.

Better Streets MKE was happy to emcee the SOUP event. Thank you to Urban Spaceship attendees for their generosity in supporting these projects!

Is this journalism?

Want to watch a very rough video of the Walnut Street and Lapham Boulevard projects, with an excessive internal monologue externalized? Do we have the video for you! If you haven’t been able to make it out to these projects, check out the video below.

Upcoming Events

Critical Mass

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

Friday, November 24th, 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

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

☃️ Better Streets MKE event: Holiday Family Bike Ride 🎄

Join Better Streets MKE & friends at a family bike ride to see downtown light displays and share hot chocolate. Participants will gather as early as 3 pm at Cathedral Square and roll promptly at 4:00 pm. Free registration appreciated but not required.

Saturday, December 16th, 2023
3:00pm to 6:00 pm
Cathedral Square Park
Meet at the corner of Kilbourn and Jefferson, by the playground
Transit: the Hop, 30, 3 blocks or less from CN1, 14, 15, 33,

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, December 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 Wells St.

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.

Washington and Scott Bike Boulevard

The grant-funded south-side bike boulevard project has been in the works for a few years. At the November 17th Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Meeting, DPW staff shared that construction is expected to be done in spring of next year. The project will include traffic circles, curb extensions, and speed humps between Layton Boulevard and South Water St. at the Kinnickinnic River Trail. Future plans include extending the bike boulevard west along Scott St. to 37th St., where another bike boulevard is planned. The 37th St. project would connect north to the Hank Aaron State Trail.

In combination with the Kinnickinnic River Trail Connections project, south-side trail access will hopefully look a lot better in the next few years!

Milwaukee Complete Streets Health and Equity Report

The City’s annual report was released, and the 2022 report shares data on the City’s progress on (but not limited to):

  • Safe streets improvements
  • Green infrastructure
  • Transit passenger counts
  • Shared mobility counts
  • Trail counts
  • Traffic safety

Overall, the 2022 results are mixed. Thirty five of 36 of the infrastructure projects included pedestrian improvements, but only three had bike improvements, and zero included transit improvements. No miles of low-stress bikeways were built in 2022, but 2023 and beyond is expected to see a more significant focus on that. Bublr rides were up over 75% with the addition of e-bikes to the fleet. The rate of life-changing injuries did not improve for pedestrians and was significantly worse for cyclists.

Much work remains to be done, and it is critical the City continues to track and report this information.

Edgewood Advisory Bike Lanes

Edgewood Avenue was recently re-paved and re-striped with a new traffic pattern. The project implements advisory bike lanes, a first in Milwaukee. The design includes one center travel lane for vehicles and a bike lane and lane of parking in each direction. To pass oncoming traffic, motorists scoot into the bike lane briefly when it is clear (but they must yield to cyclists).

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:

Surveys

  • WisDOT Active Transportation Plan 2050

    This one is unassuming, but many of Milwaukee’s worst streets were designed by WisDOT. Providing feedback here is an opportunity to guide them towards better designs in the future. Some specific asks include:

    • Maintain all crosswalk and bicycle markings on state-owned highways instead of passing maintenance responsibility to locals. Currently the state only maintains select crosswalk markings at signalized intersections and motor vehicle lane markings.

    • Differentiate design guidance for low-speed and high-speed roadways. Low-speed roadways should self-enforce the roadway’s low speed through narrow lanes, tight corner radii, and raised crosswalks. 

    • Calculate benefits for increasing cycling and walking comfort. Use existing USDOT guidance on how to value comfort improvements.

    • Switch from only using Level of Service to measure roadway performance to using accessibility measurements. Measure accessibility for travelers of all modes.

    These are very technical but they can make a big difference towards making street safety improvements more routine and encouraging better practices on every project.

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