MILWAUKEE COUNTY — Milwaukee County’s Department of Transportation is ready to take your advice and new data on what will make the streets safer. It is all part of a larger plan to get a federal grant to change roads in the county.
All summer Milwaukee County has been working to gather input from the community about what they see in their neighborhoods when it comes to reckless driving. The county’s Department of Transportation held meetings in all 19 municipalities called the Safe Streets Road Show.
At the same time, the county has been doing its own studies on the roads to combine with the feedback. The results were startling according to the director of the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation Donna Brown-Martin.
"One in four men are more likely to be killed or injured in a crash right now,” said Brown-Martin.
On top of that, people in their 20s and 30s are one and a half times more likely to be killed. And what could be most worrisome is how much someone's race plays into whether or not they die in a crash.
"People who are Black or African American are 26% of the Milwaukee County population but they make top 56% of Milwaukee County's fatal crashes,” said Brown-Martin. “That's a big number."
This comes at a time when Milwaukee County says they have seen the number of crashes fall. But the number of fatal crashes has risen.
Brown-Martin says the studies along with the neighborhood feedback are being complied to send to the federal government to gain access to $6 billion in the Safe Streets for All program.
TMJ4 News has been following along with the county's effort to get that money for more than a year. The Milwaukee County DOT is now working to create an action plan with the exact changes they want to propose for the county roads to make them safer for everyone.
"As we are getting closer the end of this first phase of our effort means we are on the right track in terms of thinking about what needs to happen and what we need to do to correct this problem,” said Brown-Martin.
The county now has 18 months to submit that action plan to the federal government. They are currently going to each of the 19 municipalities to determine their plans. The hope is by 2025 you will see road changes in the works. Although, the county says there could be temporary changes that include speed humps or traffic circles that come later this fall if the government approves it.
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.
