MILWAUKEE — Every day Cade Gerlach bikes along North Ave. to get to work. Every day, he sees just how dangerous it can be for not only bicyclists like himself but other pedestrians.
"People have tried to hit me," said Gerlach. "It's very difficult to get people to yield to you."
The same goes for Rese Schneider. She and her husband say they have had their fair share of close calls along North Ave. while biking their children to and from school.
"My husband had a really close encounter with both of our children on the bicycle where somebody was trying to pass on the right and came within a few inches of hitting our family," said Schneider.
According to officials, North Ave. is listed as one of the top ten most dangerous areas for pedestrians in Milwaukee. Since 2017, there have been more than a dozen pedestrian crashesalong the corridor. At least six of them were fatal.
"It's extremely dangerous, we have a lot of accidents happening, and a lot of people are scared to even come down here," said Alderman Jonathan Brostoff, the Third District Alderman for Milwaukee.
That's why Ald. Brostoff, along with other city officials, led a neighborhood walk with residents Wednesday. Detailing their plan to make North Ave, from Cambridge Ave. all the way down to Ivanhoe Place, safer.
"We have the opportunity for a once-in-a-generation transformation to go from one of the worst experiences for pedestrians to one of the best in the city," said Brostoff.
Safety improvements include creating a pedestrian-only plaza along East Ivanhoe, extending curbs, and installing dividers to create protected bike lanes.
"Having that protection is so helpful because paint is not protection," said Schneider.
"All those things conversely also help slow traffic down," said Brostoff.
City officials say they hope to see construction begin on their pedestrian safety plan within the next year
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