Better Streets MKE, Vol. 19

Mitchell Henke, Marybeth McGinnis, Anna Bailliekova, Charlie Megenity

Sep 12, 2024 — 9 min read

Critical Mass on the way to the Riverwest 24

As a minor programming note, it has been longer than we usually plan between newsletters. Part of the reason is we were very busy training and taking first place at the Riverwest 24 (in our hearts if not in reality). The good news is that because of that delay, this email will be extremely long. Everyone wants a nice, hearty email in their inbox...right? Read to the end for the director's cut apology.

Funding received for some of the "corridors of concern"

Milwaukee County has been awarded $29 million in grants for several bridge and road projects. Several of these are along the County's identified "corridors of concern", including construction projects on S 76th St (Layton to Howard) and Silver Spring Dr (124th to Appleton). The County will be hosting Safer Streets Workshops about these corridors - see the events section below for more info!

Center Street is on the map

Back in March, the City of Milwaukee won a major federal grant for 6th Street. The city has won a second major federal grant, this time $25 million for infrastructure and safety improvements on Center Street between Teutonia Avenue and Sherman Boulevard. The corridor is also on the high injury network. This project is a long way out and details are limited, but it will connect to the future improvements on Sherman Boulevard and potential improvements on Center Street between Teutonia Avenue and Humboldt Avenue.

Urban Milwaukee has more coverage on the federal grant here.

New resident-led traffic calming tools

The City released a revamped version of the Community-Led Traffic Calming program, which allows residents to invest in traffic calming via tax assessable projects. In the past, this has usually been speed humps, but the new program offers opportunities for improvements like traffic circles, chicanes, neckdowns, and more. There is also a traffic calming lending library that allows residents to use temporary materials to test designs (and engage their neighbors), and a quiz to determine the best calming measure for your goals.

Connect 2 Bus Rapid Transit Paused Indefinitely

The County is pausing its plans for Connect 2, which would have been the County's second Bus Rapid Transit line. The Connect 2 would have hosted an improved line through multiple municipalities along mostly 27th Street. In addition to faster buses and better bus boarding, the Connect 2 would have invested in direly-needed safety improvements along a deadly stretch of road.

So, what can you do? Probably the most important thing is to vote down ballot in the November election. It's the first time in over a decade that we have even somewhat competitive maps in Wisconsin, and we'll need a change in the legislature to get proper funding to transit in Milwaukee and beyond. As a reminder, in the past budget process, the Republican-dominated legislature booted transit funding out of a designated pot and into the general pot, where it will have to fight for funding against other priorities. While Act 12 did make a deal, it was a deal that left Milwaukee with still far too little to meet its needs, despite it being an economic powerhouse for the rest of the state. Every crappy choice that MCTS needs to make comes right back to Madison.

Upcoming Events

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, September 20th, 2024
8:30 to 10:00 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.

Milwaukee County Safer Streets Workshops

The Milwaukee County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) is hosting five Safer Streets Workshops across the county. The purpose of these events is to share potential safe streets redesign and infrastructure solutions for Milwaukee County’s Corridors of Concern (roadways with the highest safety risks based on community feedback and crash data history). Learn more here, and sign up to join the meetings here.

NORTHWEST SIDE: Tuesday, September 24th, 2024
6:00 to 7:30 pm
Good Hope Library
7715 Good Hope Rd.
Transit: 76
Featured Corridors of Concern: N. 60^th Street, N. 76^th Street, N. 91^st Street-N. 92^ndStreet, Good Hope Road, Mayfair Road-N. Lovers Lane Road, Silver Spring Drive

NORTH SHORE: Wednesday, September 25th, 2024
6:00 to 7:30 pm
Whitefish Bay Public Library
5420 N Marlborough Dr., Whitefish Bay, WI
Transit: GREEN
Featured Corridors of Concern: Green Bay Avenue, N. Lake Drive, Port Washington Road, Silver Spring Drive, Teutonia Avenue

NEAR NORTH SIDE: Tuesday, October 1st, 2024
6:00 to 7:30 pm
Gee's Clippers
2200 N Doctor M.L.K. Jr. Dr.
Transit: 19, 21
Featured Corridors of Concern: Capitol Drive, Fond du Lac Avenue, Hampton Avenue, North Avenue, Sherman Boulevard, 27^th Street

SOUTHWEST SIDE: Saturday, October 12th, 2024
1:00 to 2:30 pm
West Allis Farmer’s Market
6501 W National Ave., West Allis
Transit: 18, 54
Featured Corridors of Concern: S. 60^th Street-Hawley Road, S. 76^th Street, S. 92^nd Street, S. 108^th Street, Miller Park Way, National Avenue

SOUTH SIDE: Tuesday, October 15th, 2024
6:00 to 7:30 pm
Milwaukee Public Library Mitchell Street Branch
906 W Historic Mitchell St
Transit: 19, 20, 54, 80
Featured Corridors of Concern: 27th Street-Layton Boulevard, S. Lake Drive, Layton Avenue, Lincoln Avenue, National Avenue

Bublr Bash

Bublr is hosting their annual fundraiser. Whether you take them frequently or never have, our nonprofit bike share is a special beast that provides bikes for affordable prices. It's easy to take our bike share for granted, but a glance over to other cities sees private bike shares with absurd costs or bike shares only available during certain months. Bublr runs a real-deal, for-the-people, year-round service for recreational and transportation cyclists alike. They've also had a very tough year due to vandalism. So come on out, party, and support them - you might even run into yours truly!

Tuesday, September 24th, 2024
5:00 - 7:30 pm
Wheel and Sprocket Bay View: 187 E Becher St
187 E Becher St
Transit: GREEN, 15, 54
Bublr station at Wheel and Sprocket

Critical Mass

A (fun!) monthly no-drop bike ride, with a fabulous website. Rolling out 6:00 pm sharp.

Friday, September 27th, 2024
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

Surveys

Milwaukee County Trail Projects Campaign

Milwaukee County Parks has heard a significant increase in support and demand for trails over the last few years, and are looking for feedback on where to expand. Their goals and vision are described on the project page with a feedback form near the bottom.

Vision Zero

Vision Zero is a policy to reach zero traffic deaths and life-changing injuries by 2037, through a mix of strategies including redesigned streets. Take this 10-minute survey to help shape the City of Milwaukee Vision Zero Action Plan.

Bublr Bikes

Bublr bikes has a survey out, seeking input from both those use the bike share regularly and those who haven't tried the city's fantastic non-profit bike share yet. The survey is available in English and Spanish.

Eyes on Projects

Psst - we don’t cover every project in every volume of this newsletter if there is no major new information. See previous newsletters for more updates about projects. Also, check out the City's map of infrastructure projects!

Hopkins Street Protected Bike Lane

The City is now taking feedback on a proposed Hopkins Street Protected bike lane between Locust Street/Teutonia Avenue and Hopkins Street/35th Street. A community engagement meeting is planned for this fall, but is not yet scheduled.

Washington Street/Scott Street Bike Boulevard

Announced back in late 2018, the Washington/Scott Bicycle Boulevard project has started. Washington will be repaved between 1st Street near the KK River Trail to 20th Street, and Scott will be repaved between 20th and 27th. The project will have other improvements including pavement markings, signs, and traffic calming treatments, such as speed humps, traffic circles, and curb extensions. See above for one of the new traffic circles near Walker Square!

This project intersects with 2nd Street, which has planned improvements for a protected bike lane between Washington and Mitchell Street.

Water Street Project

The City is in the early stages of planning improvements to Water Street, from Juneau to Pleasant. The city's Downtown Plan identified Water Street as a catalyst project and imagined Water as a transit and pedestrian-first street. Design options and engagement will happen quickly in 2024, so subscribe below to get notifications about this project.

Van Buren Street

The first phase of the Van Buren Street Transformation has been completed, and Milwaukee has its first protected cycle track between Kilbourn Avenue and Brady Street. The new configuration has had issues with drivers parking their vehicles in the cycle track, though it is reportedly improving. Parking violations can be reported online or by calling 414-286-CITY.

The second phase will continue the cycle track from Kilbourn to Wells Street. This will connect to the ongoing improvements on Wells Street, which will have a protected bike lane between Kilbourn and Broadway.

The reconstruction will also convert Van Buren into a two-way street for vehicle traffic between Wells and Wisconsin Avenue, but there will be no bicycle infrastructure improvements on that segment.

North Avenue Improvements

"I heard you like construction detours, so here are more construction detours" - the City of Milwaukee, probably, but we're not mad. North Avenue construction will kick off around next week. For about 8 weeks, North Ave between Farwell and Humboldt will only have westbound traffic (the project limits are to Prospect, but Farwell-Prospect will be open to eastbound traffic). North Ave's current temporary build will be improved with new asphalt pavement, ADA-compliant curb ramps, concrete bike lane protection, bus boarding islands, and high-viz crosswalks. Between these changes and the 8 weeks of construction, we are absolutely sure no one will complain.

Curious about a project? Check out Engage MKE

There are many road projects happening in Milwaukee. To learn more about them, check out the (new and improved) Engage MKE. This resource is a good place to start for understanding the major projects occurring in Milwaukee. Projects include: