MILWAUKEE — A lingering debate over whether the City of Milwaukee should lower speed limits in residential neighborhoods is taking a sharp turn.
Any change to speed limits would require Common Council approval and ultimately, the city's Department of Public Works (DPW) was not confident that a majority of alders would support it.
Lower speed limits are still on the table, but for now, that will take a backseat to a new effort to communicate why slower speeds could have a huge impact on safety in Milwaukee
In 2021, more than $1 million in ARPA funding was set aside to drop residential speed limits from 25 miles per hour to 20. Nearly two years later, that still hasn't happened.
"We want to take a behavioral change approach with our campaign," said Kate Riordan, Senior Transportation Planner with DPW as she explained the shift.
During the debate on how to spend the pot of ARPA money, $500,000 was allocated to create new speed humps. DPW says all of the remaining funding, about $700,000, will now go to a consultant.
"Our consultant is really focused on using grassroots efforts," added Riordan who defined 'grassroots' as working with community partners and neighborhood groups to reach people.
The goal is to change Milwaukee's driving culture — one tactic will be communicating why speed is a factor in the city's most serious crashes. DPW says residents can expect to see these safe speeds campaigns launch later this year.
DPW will still remain focused on lowering speed limits, and will now be pushing for changes on Milwaukee's busiest and most dangerous streets as well.
"That's some of the feedback we received from the elected officials when we were talking about this with them," said Riordan. "(They asked) 'Why are you focusing on residential streets?" she said they believed residential areas were not the most problematic.
Riordan also acknowledged that this campaign will not solve all of Milwaukee's issues, but she does expect it to complement work that is already underway — which includes changing street design and collaborating with MPD on enforcement. Both are part of the city's Vision Zero commitment, pushing for zero deaths and serious injuries on Milwaukee streets by 2037.
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