Better Streets MKE, Vol. 3
New Year’s Resolutions
The New Year has arrived, which is a good time to think about resolutions. In June last year, The City of Milwaukee passed a major one. Milwaukee’s Vision Zero resolution explicitly acknowledges that traffic deaths are preventable. The resolution offers a potential goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries within the next 15 years. Last year saw other legislative achievements, including:
- Repealing “the prohibition of the operation of bicycles and electric scooters on public school grounds and public playgrounds”
- Creating the Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee as a permanent replacement for the former Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force
- No longer requiring the Commissioner of Public Works to be a professional engineer
- Extending the Active Streets for Businesses Program
Legislative changes from last year and beyond have manifested some improvements in the physical world, including:
- A few Rapid Implementation Improvements
- A few Active Streets
- A lot of speed humps
Major projects, however, have not matched the goals laid out by City’s Complete Streets Plan, Pedestrian Plan, or Vision Zero commitment. Whether it’s Humboldt Boulevard, Howard Avenue, Vliet Street, or National Avenue, the safety of vulnerable road users has not been prioritized. These projects are on long cycles that can be constrained by both funding and requirements from the State. It’s critical we do everything we can to make these corridors safe and sustainable, as another chance may not come along for another 50 years.
In 2023 though, I’d like to see the City commit to implementing as many low-cost and high-impact interventions as they can. How many slip lanes can we close? How many curb extensions can we install? How many intersections can we daylight by removing parking? I can request a bike rack, but I don’t have an avenue to DPW for anything like the above.
None of the above is to imply that the City has not made progress. I am grateful for the improvements that have happened, and readily acknowledge that the City is constrained, particularly for money and internal capacity. Nevertheless, there is significant room for improvement with what we have now. The City must efficiently recognize where there is potential for cheap and effective improvements and do them.
— MH
Upcoming Events
Reckless driving listening session
WTMJ will host a virtual listening session about reckless driving as a part of their Project: Drive Safer efforts. The public is welcome to attend.
Thursday, January 19th, 2023
2pm to 3:30pm
Meeting link (available at 2 pm : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83876060236?pwd=WjdnbzlDb0krWGpXakNJdXFNN1Fkdz0
Meeting ID: 838 7606 0236
Passcode: 380272
Book exchange & Safe Streets meet up
We had so much fun in January we’re doing it again. The first half hour will be reserved for the book exchange, after that, bring your ideas and dreams for how we can show up for better streets this year.
Sunday, February 5th, 2023
2pm to 4pm
The Best Place at the Pabst Brewery
901 W Juneau Ave. Milwaukee WI
Transit: 12, 31, 33, 34, 80, 81
Bublr station adjacent
Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee
In October, the members of the City’s new Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee were appointed, including two of the authors of this newsletter. The 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, January 20, 2023
8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
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 GOL.
Bublr station on Van Buren St. near Water St.
Brady & Farwell hotel proposal community meeting
A proposal has been announced to create a new hotel at Brady Street and Farwell Avenue. The proposed structure would include a first floor restaurant and bar as well as a top-floor event space. The lot is currently a mostly empty office space known as Farwell Point. The new development would broaden the tax base; in addition, the development provides an opportunity to scrutinize the dangerous intersection of Farwell and Brady and improve the experience for visitors and residents alike.
Monday, January 23rd, 2023
6pm
Dorsia
1307 E. Brady St.
Transit: GRE, 14,15
Bublr station on Brady between Franklin and Humboldt
NW Side Trail Connections Plan and Milwaukee County Trail Council Open House
The Northwest Trail Plan was developed by Milwaukee County Parks to provide equitable neighborhood connections to the Oak Leaf Trail. Please drop by the Open House to review the plan and give feedback. The Milwaukee County Trails Council will also be there to hear from the public on trail issues and ideas.
Thursday, February 9th, 2023
4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Blatz Pavilion at Lincoln Park
1301 W. Hampton Avenue
Transit: 11, 58, 80, PUR
Eyes on Projects
Brady Street pedestrianization study
The Brady Street BID board of directors and Pedestrian Committee are moving forward with a study on pedestrianization of two blocks of Brady between Warren and Franklin. Maintaining access for public transportation and bike and pedestrian safety have been identified as key priorities by BID president Rachel Taylor and Alderman Jonathan Brostoff.
Opening Brady street by limiting car traffic is an opportunity to prevent further loss of life, improve quality of life in the neighborhood, and expand the footprint of local businesses. Yet it is concerning that the study will only consider 2 blocks. The entirety of Brady Street is on the Pedestrian High Injury Network, and multiple pedestrian and cyclist deaths occurred on the street in 2022 alone. Opening the road to uses besides car traffic would immediately fix one of the top 10 most dangerous corridors and offer a key link for service industry workers who work on and near Brady Street and depend on transit and biking. Two blocks is an okay start, but it will not give the benefit of a continuous, safe street that a longer stretch would offer.
West Lisbon Avenue
Though this project had its most recent PIM back in May of 2022, its worth highlighting as an example of an opportunity to getting street reconstruction done right. The project covers Lisbon Avenue from Capitol to Burleigh on the city’s west side; it’s currently two driving lanes and a parking lane in each direction, with a center median. It’s overbuilt for the volume of daily traffic it serves, which makes it dangerous-- the wide roadway encourages speeding, and it’s difficult to cross on foot or by bike.
All four re-design options include a road diet down to one lane of traffic in each direction. In addition, two of the four alternatives include a separated mobility lane.
Other improvements under consideration include a variety of street calming approaches including raised bicycle and pedestrian crossings, pedestrian refuges, curb extensions and bioswales to improve water management.
A survey is still open to provide feedback— please submit comments in support of the full range of street improvements. This project could be a great example of how to redesign streets for people and reclaim public space.
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. Now that the holidays are behind us, we’ll expect more updates and ways to get involved in some of these projects, so it’s a good time to brush up. Projects include:
Surveys
- Milwaukee County Parks have surveys open for playground reconstructions at Cooper Park and Tippecanoe Park. They also have a neat map of in progress and imminently planned capital projects.
