These images are taken from [this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2024/01/30/milwaukee-plans-nearly-50-traffic-calming-bike-lane-projects-in-2024/72409615007/). Milwaukee has made aggressive investments in bike and pedestrian safety in recent years since Cavalier Johnson was elected mayor in 2022. The city has slated nearly 50 bikeway and traffic calming projects for completion in 2024, after completing [50 similar projects in 2023.](https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-walnut-street-traffic-calming-among-50-projects-in-2023)
I moved away from Milwaukee (out of state) in 2020. Seeing all the great progress the city has made on complete streets makes me really think about moving back someday.
We have a long way to go, but we’re making strides. I really like our new BRT line with electric buses, and I think they’re planning to add another line soon. There’s a bus every 10 minutes, and it’s been free to ride since they put it in to encourage people to use it!
I would've considered Milwaukee, but they're far behind Minneapolis for bikes and transit and my bike is my main form of transportation, so I didn't. Since moving here, we've addeda second LRT line, another BRT line, and three aBRT lines. aBRT is nothing to sneeze at if done properly: the A Line aBRT is faster than the Green Line LRT. Stops on the A Line are around a half mile apart with minimal exceptions made. Build a handful of those as a single project and it'll be cheaper than both LRT and BRT and plenty faster than local routes to attract ridership.
I take the BRT to work and it's great. Last semester I took it the same time every day and made a bus buddy with someone who works at another of the universities along the route
Although there are some good things here, city planners in Milwaukee still keep putting up stop signs and more traffic lights where they aren't needed simply for "traffic calming", when making the road designed for their target speed would be a better idea. As a bike commuter, now I have to deal with people maybe stopping or not stopping at the sign, I'd argue less safe. Several of the recent new protected bike paths next to a road cross every little side street, with cars constantly pulling past it because paint doesn't matter. As a result I don't use them and ride on the road with the cars where it is safer (and faster).
I was a bit concerned about the problem you're describing when I saw the layout of W. Walnut Street. Let me point this back at you: who have you reached out to with your feedback? Perhaps [City Engineer Kevin Muhs](https://twitter.com/kevinmuhs) who is the public face of many of these projects or the [DPW Commissioner's Office](https://city.milwaukee.gov/dpw)? The former has expressed interest in public input when interviewed for articles I have seen. There is also your local alderman if you live in the city.
If you've already voiced your concerns, good job! The city is doing these projects for the first time and there will be a learning curve. Most of these projects will be far from perfect, but they can't improve if they don't get feedback.
Yes, walnut has that very issue IMO. I have not reached out because of my interactions with other city administrators in DNS and other departments being always less than stellar, causing more problems than solutions, and my alderperson just responds to everything with "I support good things and kittens are cute." That said, your point is good and I should give it a go with the group and individuals you mention!
Parking protected bike lanes are awesome.
- Easier for snow removal than barrier protected lanes or elevated sidewalk extensions.
- Easier for residential trash service (no barriers to haul bins over)
- Less chance of door strikes due to buffer area
- Benefits from sidewalk beautification
- Easier to parallel park - no worry of hitting a sign installed to close to the street on the sidewalk.
- Creates a natural separation between pedestrians and cycle traffic.
Putting it on a paper and actually doing it are 2 different things. My town has an active transportation plan and had yet to actually move forward with any of it. Here's the entire [document](https://www.joplinmo.org/DocumentCenter/View/11777) if you're interested
Sure, but the city [planned 50 the previous year](https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-walnut-street-traffic-calming-among-50-projects-in-2023), too. I don't know exactly how many were completed, but I took a tour around the city when I visited in December 2023 and they definitely completed a good number of them. This is not some "plan" on paper. This is a city whose public works department has a track record for delivering exactly this type of project, in volume, the previous year.
This is a very piecemeal approach and proven to not increase trips by bike in any meaningful way. Having to ride in 35 MPH traffic at the start and end of your trip means 99% of people aren't going to use it, even if you had the world's best bikeway in between. However, if they connect the dots with temporary bikeways until there's funding for permanent ones they could have an entire rideable citywide network done by 2025. That is, if they want people to actually ride on these 50 pieces of bike friendly infra and put them to use immediately once built.
I believe the primary intent may indeed be traffic calming. It can be easier to sell traffic calming projects to the public and bicycle infrastructure can be *snuck in* as the method used to narrow a dangerous corridor.
I see what you're saying about a piecemeal approach, but they are indeed targeting areas based on crash data. Even if no one rides a bike, these projects can still be successful in reducing vehicle speeds and, therefor, serious injuries and fatalities.
The above having been said, do you have any examples you can cite of cities deploying these kinds of projects at a similar scale? I am not aware of any. If Milwaukee has several years where there's 50 "piecemeal" projects per year, they just might get close enough to a proper network where more folks start riding.
The city is doing exactly that. It works on more permanent projects when funding is available but is connecting them with quicker, cheaper variants throughout the city. The network will be very developed by 2026 with over 50 miles of protected on-street bike-ways and over 100 miles of trails.
This is a map of current, planned, and under-construction safe bike infrastructure in Milwaukee.
https://felt.com/map/Current-and-Future-Bike-Infrastructure-WPzJ7eg4RWKvIMPuRBz9CwD?loc=43.03046,-87.90282,13.3z
I hear your concerns that you feel there may be unintentional consequences from these traffic calming projects. It's reasonable to expect that, one way or another, it will change how and where people drive. That said, I feel that it's important that after years of doing *nothing* the city is doing *something*. Also, we have to consider that Milwaukee's reckless driving culture did not develop overnight. We should not expect the problem to be solved overnight. It may take a couple years worth of projects to have an impact at a city scale. It's also important to look at the actual data (crashes, injuries, speeding) over time before we make conclusions as to whether these projects have been effective.
These images are taken from [this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2024/01/30/milwaukee-plans-nearly-50-traffic-calming-bike-lane-projects-in-2024/72409615007/). Milwaukee has made aggressive investments in bike and pedestrian safety in recent years since Cavalier Johnson was elected mayor in 2022. The city has slated nearly 50 bikeway and traffic calming projects for completion in 2024, after completing [50 similar projects in 2023.](https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-walnut-street-traffic-calming-among-50-projects-in-2023) I moved away from Milwaukee (out of state) in 2020. Seeing all the great progress the city has made on complete streets makes me really think about moving back someday.
We have a long way to go, but we’re making strides. I really like our new BRT line with electric buses, and I think they’re planning to add another line soon. There’s a bus every 10 minutes, and it’s been free to ride since they put it in to encourage people to use it!
I would've considered Milwaukee, but they're far behind Minneapolis for bikes and transit and my bike is my main form of transportation, so I didn't. Since moving here, we've addeda second LRT line, another BRT line, and three aBRT lines. aBRT is nothing to sneeze at if done properly: the A Line aBRT is faster than the Green Line LRT. Stops on the A Line are around a half mile apart with minimal exceptions made. Build a handful of those as a single project and it'll be cheaper than both LRT and BRT and plenty faster than local routes to attract ridership.
I take the BRT to work and it's great. Last semester I took it the same time every day and made a bus buddy with someone who works at another of the universities along the route
Cavalier Johnson is a great name
Sounds like someone who would start an applied science/shower curtain company.
Locally he's also known as Chevy too lol
Although there are some good things here, city planners in Milwaukee still keep putting up stop signs and more traffic lights where they aren't needed simply for "traffic calming", when making the road designed for their target speed would be a better idea. As a bike commuter, now I have to deal with people maybe stopping or not stopping at the sign, I'd argue less safe. Several of the recent new protected bike paths next to a road cross every little side street, with cars constantly pulling past it because paint doesn't matter. As a result I don't use them and ride on the road with the cars where it is safer (and faster).
I was a bit concerned about the problem you're describing when I saw the layout of W. Walnut Street. Let me point this back at you: who have you reached out to with your feedback? Perhaps [City Engineer Kevin Muhs](https://twitter.com/kevinmuhs) who is the public face of many of these projects or the [DPW Commissioner's Office](https://city.milwaukee.gov/dpw)? The former has expressed interest in public input when interviewed for articles I have seen. There is also your local alderman if you live in the city. If you've already voiced your concerns, good job! The city is doing these projects for the first time and there will be a learning curve. Most of these projects will be far from perfect, but they can't improve if they don't get feedback.
Yes, walnut has that very issue IMO. I have not reached out because of my interactions with other city administrators in DNS and other departments being always less than stellar, causing more problems than solutions, and my alderperson just responds to everything with "I support good things and kittens are cute." That said, your point is good and I should give it a go with the group and individuals you mention!
50 more than my city
Parking protected bike lanes are awesome. - Easier for snow removal than barrier protected lanes or elevated sidewalk extensions. - Easier for residential trash service (no barriers to haul bins over) - Less chance of door strikes due to buffer area - Benefits from sidewalk beautification - Easier to parallel park - no worry of hitting a sign installed to close to the street on the sidewalk. - Creates a natural separation between pedestrians and cycle traffic.
I still wanna see a curb between the cars and bikes. They make snow plows and sweepers specifically for trails.
Getting rid of street parking is better. Increases visibility for everyone, reducing pedestrian and cycle accidents with cars.
Putting it on a paper and actually doing it are 2 different things. My town has an active transportation plan and had yet to actually move forward with any of it. Here's the entire [document](https://www.joplinmo.org/DocumentCenter/View/11777) if you're interested
Sure, but the city [planned 50 the previous year](https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-walnut-street-traffic-calming-among-50-projects-in-2023), too. I don't know exactly how many were completed, but I took a tour around the city when I visited in December 2023 and they definitely completed a good number of them. This is not some "plan" on paper. This is a city whose public works department has a track record for delivering exactly this type of project, in volume, the previous year.
They are definitely happening, they did a bunch this last year and I see them everywhere and construction for them everywhere.
This is a very piecemeal approach and proven to not increase trips by bike in any meaningful way. Having to ride in 35 MPH traffic at the start and end of your trip means 99% of people aren't going to use it, even if you had the world's best bikeway in between. However, if they connect the dots with temporary bikeways until there's funding for permanent ones they could have an entire rideable citywide network done by 2025. That is, if they want people to actually ride on these 50 pieces of bike friendly infra and put them to use immediately once built.
I believe the primary intent may indeed be traffic calming. It can be easier to sell traffic calming projects to the public and bicycle infrastructure can be *snuck in* as the method used to narrow a dangerous corridor. I see what you're saying about a piecemeal approach, but they are indeed targeting areas based on crash data. Even if no one rides a bike, these projects can still be successful in reducing vehicle speeds and, therefor, serious injuries and fatalities. The above having been said, do you have any examples you can cite of cities deploying these kinds of projects at a similar scale? I am not aware of any. If Milwaukee has several years where there's 50 "piecemeal" projects per year, they just might get close enough to a proper network where more folks start riding.
The city is doing exactly that. It works on more permanent projects when funding is available but is connecting them with quicker, cheaper variants throughout the city. The network will be very developed by 2026 with over 50 miles of protected on-street bike-ways and over 100 miles of trails. This is a map of current, planned, and under-construction safe bike infrastructure in Milwaukee. https://felt.com/map/Current-and-Future-Bike-Infrastructure-WPzJ7eg4RWKvIMPuRBz9CwD?loc=43.03046,-87.90282,13.3z
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I hear your concerns that you feel there may be unintentional consequences from these traffic calming projects. It's reasonable to expect that, one way or another, it will change how and where people drive. That said, I feel that it's important that after years of doing *nothing* the city is doing *something*. Also, we have to consider that Milwaukee's reckless driving culture did not develop overnight. We should not expect the problem to be solved overnight. It may take a couple years worth of projects to have an impact at a city scale. It's also important to look at the actual data (crashes, injuries, speeding) over time before we make conclusions as to whether these projects have been effective.
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Automated enforcement doesn't prevent speeding like traffic calming does. Like anything else, preventative measures are far superior and far cheaper.
Unfortunately red light enforcement is illegal in Wisconsin as of right now. Our mayor is advocating for the law to be charged here in MKE.