MILWAUKEE — People traveling within freshly painted bike lanes on Milwaukee's East Side have a new, eye-catching layer of protection.
Colorful concrete planters have been placed in between the painted lines and plastic poles that mark the recently installed protected bike lanes.
"We decided as a BID board to add the planters," said David Smulyan, the executive director of the East Side Business Improvement District.
"The whole idea of this project was to fit in with the mayor's and the alderman's idea of calmer, safer streets — and I think we're seeing that already," he added.
The east side BID will maintain the planters, but it's a temporary plan.
"What we did here is what we call Rapid Implementation," explained Mike Amsden, Multi-Modal Transportation Manager with the Department of Public Works.
"This is kind of the first step to some bigger changes that are in the works," he added.
DPW says tax incremental financing dollars have already been earmarked.
"That money will allow for more significant changes — some concrete separation, not just paint and posts," said Amsden. "Things like making the Ivanhoe Plaza permanent, creating safer intersections — kind of raising up intersections at Farwell and North Avenue to really slow down traffic."
Alderman Jonathan Brostoff says the long-term plan for North Avenue has been a long time coming.
"It is right by a hospital, right by an elderly home, right by a school with small young children — including one of my own. And it is definitely a top priority but we weren't able to get moving on it for so many years, and now we're getting something, so I think that's a pretty big deal."
The initial changes have been met with mixed reviews — TMJ4 spoke to people walking along North Ave. who applauded the safety enhancements and some who were upset about lost parking.
"There are some available public lots right around the corner — on North Ave. by Prospect where Whole Foods is and where Ascension has a parking lot," said Smulyan.
Drivers are being warned not to use the bike lane as a loading zone or a place to park. DPW says it goes against city ordinance and you would end up being ticketed.
"Any change, even positive change will take some time getting used to," added Brostoff.
According to DPW — a speed study done last fall along North Avenue showed that 35% of drivers were going more than 25 miles per hour, which is the speed limit.
Now, DPW will begin collecting new data so they can gauge how the changes are affecting speed, crashes, and traffic volume along North Avenue.
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