Newsletter

Better Streets MKE, Vol. 9

Slowly at first, then all at once

Mitchell Henke

— 6 min read
Better Streets MKE, Vol. 9
Milwaukee is a cycling city

Last month, among the bike joys of Milwaukee summer was the Mayor’s commitment, in his State of the City speech June 26th, to having 50 miles of protected bike lanes under construction or funded by 2026. This would be a dramatic leap for the city. What we know of the currently in progress projects (National, West Lisbon, West Walnut, National, Van Buren, Sherman), those for which funding has been secured (e.g. Villard) and those for which we have outstanding grant applications (Oklahoma, West Lisbon/West Walnut from 20th to 40th, Hopkins), and places where we’re seeing early conceptual work (North Ave and Brady St) is really promising. We’re starting to see the outline of a true protected network through the city!

These developments feel like they’re happening all at once, but it’s important to remember the years of work and advocacy that brought us to this place. The city released a bike plan in 2010. Community groups fought for (and won!) a Complete Streets ordinance five years ago. We need all of it: leadership from elected officials and their appointees, expertise from city staff (and for staff to be empowered to pursue the best solution), and advocacy to push the city to go farther, faster. City Engineer Kevin Muhs recently underscored the importance of engagement on Twitter, sharing that community feedback was important to securing protected bike lanes on Lake Drive, where previously PBLs were not proposed.

Let’s celebrate, take heart, and continue to show up for better streets in Milwaukee.

—A.B.

Upcoming Events

Milwaukee County Safe Streets Road Show

Per Milwaukee County, the Safe Streets Roadshow will gather feedback from residents to understand how Milwaukee County municipalities and all roadway users are impacted by reckless driving. The roadshow will also provide an overview of the project, goals, and timeline. There are opportunities throughout the rest of July and August. The next couple weeks of events are below, for additional dates, see the county’s information page.

Wednesday, July 12th, 2023
3:00pm
Franklin Public Library (Fadrow Room),
9151 W. Loomis Road,
Franklin, WI 53132
Wednesday, July 12th, 2023
6:00pm
Glendale City Hall,
5909 N. Milwaukee River Parkway,
Glendale, WI 53209
Thursday, July 13th, 2023
2:00pm
Bayside Village Hall (Board Room,
9075 N Regent Road,
Bayside, WI 53217
Thursday, July 13th, 2023
6:00pm
Wauwatosa City Hall,
7725 W. North Avenue,
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
Tuesday, July 18th, 2023
5:00pm
Milwaukee Public Library - Good Hope Branch,
7715 Good Hope Road,
Milwaukee, WI 53228
Wednesday, July 19th, 2023
6:00pm
Open Flame Restaurant,
5081 S. 108th Street,
Hales Corners, WI 53228
Saturday, July 22nd, 2023
10:00am
Open Flame Restaurant,
West Allis Public Library (Constitution Room),
7421 W. National Avenue,
West Allis, WI 53214
Saturday, July 22nd, 2023
2:00pm
Milwaukee Public Library - Center Street Branch,
2727 W. Fond du Lac Avenue

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 .

Open Houses
Monday, August 14
5:30pm - 7pm
Mitchell Street Library  
906 W Historic Mitchell St
Monday, August 28
5:30pm - 7pm
Washington Park Library
2121 N Sherman Blvd

The Future of 794

Rethink 794 is hosting a discussion on the future of 794 with special guest Peter Park and local planners, developers, and experts. Register here.

Monday, July 17th, 2023
8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Dr. E. J. And Margaret O'Brien Hall
1530 West Wisconsin Avenue
Transit: CN1, 30, 24, BLUE
Bublr Station at 15th and Wells

Milwaukee Turners & Daily Bird NARCAN Training

The Milwaukee Turners are proud to partner with The Daily Bird to offer a FREE community NARCAN (naloxone) training at Turner Hall!

NARCAN (naloxone) can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Learn to recognize the signs of an opioid overdose and administer NARCAN nasal spray.

Carrying NARCAN and knowing how to properly use it can save a life. Free NARCAN will be distributed at the training.

Thursday, July 27th, 2023
3:30 - 4:30pm
Turner Hall
1040 N Vel R Phillips Ave
Transit: GRE, 15, 19, 31, 33, 34, 57, 81

Bike+ STEAM Fest Bike Roll

The slow-paced, family-friendly ride will start and end in Washington Park in the Bandshell Area, featuring stops throughout the ride to highlight various developments and community establishments.

There will be a free mobile repair station by Wheel and Sprocket, so come early to get your bike tuned up and ready to ride! We also have a limited number of bikes available to rent for the ride, free of charge, courtesy of Bublr Bikes. Register here.

Friday, July 28th, 2023
5 - 7 p.m.
Washington Park
1859 N. 40th Street
Transit: 30, 57

Critical Mass

A (fun!) monthly no-drop bike ride, with a fabulous website. Rolling out 6:00 pm sharp. Ending at the People’s Holiday, the Riverwest 24, this time!

Friday, July 28th, 2023
Rolling out 6:00 p.m. sharp
Red Arrow Park
920 N Water St
Transit: GREEN, 15, Hop, 57, 18, 33, 19, 30, CN1, 14

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, July 21st, 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 CN1.
Bublr station on Van Buren St. near Water 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 last time’s newsletter for more updates about projects.

Edgewood Avenue

The city is considering installing advisory bike lanes on Edgewood Avenue between Oakland and Lake Drive. With advisory bike lanes, drivers in both directions share a single middle lane, while bikes have dedicated lanes on each side.

When there is oncoming traffic, the dashed bike lane lines permit cars to move into the bike lane to avoid conflicts. This treatment has been used in Minneapolis and Ann Arbor but is new to Milwaukee.

Find out more and submit comments on engagemke.com.

Kinnickinnic River Trail (KKRT) Connections

The Kinnickinnic River Trail Connections project has been in the works for a few years, and the City has opened up the second public survey on the project website.

The project aims to create much-needed trail connections in a number of places. It’s hard to describe all of the planned areas for improvement since they’re quite scattered. Briefly, the City is planning to:

  • Create a safer crossing at 16th St. into Pulaski Park for a future nearby KK River Trail project from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage District
  • Connect the segments at 1st St. / Lincoln Ave. and KK Ave. / Maple Ave. in Bay View
  • Extend the trail from where it ends at National Ave to go north to Pittsburgh Ave. where there will be improvements going west to the Hank Aaron State Trail and east into the Third Ward

These are important improvements to take patchwork and turn it into a trail network.

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

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