MILWAUKEE — Reckless driving and re-engineering roads to calm traffic remain key issues for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson as he gave his ‘State of the City’ address Monday morning.
“Traffic calming, it works,” Mayor Johnson said. “It reduces reckless driving and that’s more than just conjecture. We have the numbers to show it.”
The city has implemented several projects already, from narrowing lanes and installing concrete bump-outs to raising crosswalks at intersections.
Let’s go in-depth on whether stakeholders feel the huge push to re-engineer roads is making an impact.
Celia Jackson is one of Milwaukee’s biggest voices in the fight against reckless driving. Her frustrations haven’t faded, especially after a week in which two Milwaukee crashes claimed three lives.
“I still feel unsafe on the roads,” she said. “On any given occasion that I am driving, I see somebody driving behind me on my bumper, I see people passing on the right. I see people who are speeding. I don’t really see it slowing down.”
While Jackson supports the city taking a multi-pronged approach to make the streets safer, she thinks it’s too early to tell if re-engineering roads is making a significant difference.
“I think maybe on some level they’re having some impact but when you look at the serious crashes that we do see, it’s really hard for people to fully embrace and grasp that they’re making that kind of difference,” she said.
After a record 50 traffic calming projects in 2023, the city is doubling down with nearly as many in 2024.
“Ever since these traffic calming projects have picked up, have you noticed a difference in reckless driving in the city?” TMJ4’s Ben Jordan asked.
“I think the data is starting to show that there is a difference,” said Mike Amsden with the Department of Public Works. “Crashes have gone down slightly. We’re still seeing far too many serious and fatal crashes but we’re starting to see a difference.”
Amsden says the proof is in the data. Each time a road or an intersection is identified for a traffic calming project, DPW studies the effectiveness of the investment before and after the project is done.
Changes to a stretch of Lapham Blvd. resulted in a significant speed reduction. The average speed went from 30 to 25 miles per hour and the study found zero percent of drivers going at least 10 over the limit.
Amsden says a section of E. Oklahoma Ave. is another example of encouraging results. Most notably, there’s been a 37 percent decrease in the number of drivers going above the speed limit.
While 2022 came with a surge in speed humps and 2023 brought all sorts of concrete bump-outs to the city, Amsden says the approach for 2024 won’t focus on one type of intervention.
"It’s really trying to address each individual street and each individual problem with whatever makes the most sense,” he said. “That could be speed humps, that could be more bump-outs, that could be taking streets and putting them on what we call a road diet where we go from 4 lanes to three or two lanes.”
As D.P.W. moves forward with efforts to force drivers to slow down one project at a time, Jackson thinks the city needs to do a better job of explaining why certain streets are selected and whether the changes are working.
“It would be really very helpful for members of this community to have a better understanding of why these designs are being made, why they’re in particular locations, and why the community needs to work with the Department of Public Works and the city of Milwaukee in order to address the issue of reckless driving,” she said.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
