MILWAUKEE — After a busy 2023, city officials revealed the 2024 Milwaukee traffic calming and protected bikeway projects on Tuesday.
There are nearly 50 projects planned for 2024 across the city including bump-outs, raised crosswalks, speed bumps, and protected bike lanes.
“Sometimes you need to physically change the structure of streets to force people to be better drivers,” District 10 Alderman Michael Murphy said. “This is one method we’re encouraging and supporting. In fact, you’ll see fifty projects this year that we'll be implementing."
One of those projects includes extending the traffic calming components along Highland Boulevard.
“You try to cross the street and they speed up on you. Run red lights constantly. I almost got hit a couple times,” Reuben Wooden said. He’s lived on Highland Boulevard, near 27th street, for seven years.
Part of Highland, from West Vliet Street to North 35th Street, was remodeled in 2023 to include parking-protected bike lanes in both directions.
Neighbors where that project already exists told TMJ4 they think it was a bad idea.
“It’s a bummer because 3 cars could fit in front of my house and now one car per house. I feel bad for the folks who live in the apartment buildings,” Brian Peterson, a resident on Highland for 12 years, said.
Now, in 2024, the parking-protected bike lanes will be extended from N. 35th Street to N. 20th Street. According to a press release, the bike lanes on Highland will span three aldermanic districts, aiming to slow the speeds of people driving by reducing travel lanes.
“We need that because it’s all congested together. People get off work and are zooming around other people. It’s gotten really bad,” Wooden explained.
According to a map of the projects, 18 of the nearly 50 projects include protected bikeways.
The Department of Public Works said estimated costs for all listed projects, which includes local, state and federal funding, are between $86 and $88 million. Funds from Tax Incremental Districts (TIDs) have also been allocated to the projects.
The Department of Public Works presented the projects alongside Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Aldermen Robert Bauman and Michael Murphy, Near West Side Partners, and the Wisconsin Bike Federation.
This effort is part of the city’s commitment to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries while also integrating people into transportation planning.
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