Better Streets MKE, Vol. 5
You wanted a beautiful spring? How about hail instead?
Big shout-out to Mitchell, who pushed to introduce the no parking signs (as seen above) on KK, right before the entrance to the KK River Trail (read more below!). Sometimes I feel absolutely overwhelmed and emotionally frustrated by the work of safe streets advocacy, which can lead to a spiral of cynicism and negativity. And then people like Mitchell go ahead and get the simple kind of results that keep me safer every, single time I bike home from work. I’m really grateful for every person in this city who cares enough to show up, however they can.
- MM
Upcoming Events
Critical Mass
A (fun!) monthly no-drop bike ride, with a fabulous website. Rolling out 6:00 pm sharp.
Friday, April 28th, 2023
Rolling out 6:00 pm sharp
Red Arrow Park
920 N Water St
Transit: GREEN, 15, Hop, 57, 18, 33, 19, 30, GOLD, 14
Bay View Area Plan - final draft meeting
The City of Milwaukee’s Department of City Development (DCD) is hosting a fourth and final community meeting for the plan that will guide land use and development in Bay View for the next few decades.
Monday, May 1st, 2023
5-7pm
South Shore Pavilion
2900 S. Shore Ave.
Transit: 15, 51
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, May 19, 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.
National Avenue PIMs
Nearly the entire length of National Avenue will be rebuilt in the next several years This project has a similar timeline as the very likely expansion project of I-94. While these two projects are not officially connected, the similar construction timelines and drivers of traffic mean that these are deeply connected roadways. Initial designs are not out yet, but City and DOT staff have indicated to the public and stakeholders that a substantial change is in the works. The public needs to show up and support the safest, most multi-modal-friendly versions of these designs, while pushing the project team to always do more. National could truly be a transformative street rebuild stretching for miles, impacting tens of thousands, and offering a remarkable setting-of-the-bar for other areas of the city. Let’s make it the best it can be.
Thursday, June 8th, 2023
6:00 - 7:00 pm
MATC on National Ave
Transit: 18; walkable from GREEN and 20
Saturday, June 10th, 2023
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
MATC on National Ave
Transit: 18; walkable from GREEN and 20
Eyes on Projects
KK River Trail
After over five years of persistent requests, the City has finally made the first steps to fix a critical gap for cyclists going north out of Bay View! Temporary no parking signs have been installed along the northbound curb near the entrance to the KK River Trail at Maple and cyclists should no longer have to merge with vehicular traffic for the final 300 feet. The change will hopefully eventually be made permanent and have bike lanes striped to make it official. This improvement will work well with the upcoming KK River Trail Connections project to give cyclists multiple options for getting around the south side. Big thank you to DPW and Alderman Pérez’s office for supporting this!
Downtown Plan
Well…it’s here! The 2040 Downtown Plan has dropped, and it’s…awesome. Urban Milwaukee has a great write up, but honestly, read the executive summary (or the full plan, if you really want to do your homework). It’s a visionary document that imagines bringing our downtown back to something near the density and the energy Milwaukee had 100 years ago. That includes ideas like doubling downtown’s residential density, making downtown truly walkable and bike-able, expanding public spaces, and more. What’s hidden in that “more”, you say? Why, just a mega-endorsement of removing 794 and instead creating a connected network of streets, complete with essentially a new, vibrant neighborhood (!!!).
A frequent description of Milwaukee is that it is a “lowercase-c conservative city.” A visionary plan like this might push Milwaukee more towards an “uppercase-C City” — rather than just a place to drive through.
You can provide feedback through May 22.
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:
