MILWAUKEE — Vehicles of all shapes and sizes zip pass homes on 76th Street in Milwaukee. Even to the naked eye, nearly every driver is teetering on the edge of being too fast.
No, not of the 35 mph posted speed limit, but speeds more likely to be seen on the interstates which are four to five miles to the east and west of this thoroughfare. While this speedway shares characteristics of I-43 and I-41 in speeds, it has something those roadways don’t; single-family homes dot both sides of the six available lanes of this north-south corridor.
“Reckless driving is constant,” Jessica Wall said. “The summer is terrible and with more kids in the neighborhood now, people are putting children’s lives at risk.”
Wall has been in the neighborhood for over 30 years and says it has definitely changed for the worse.
“We’ve seen cars in the median strip that have been racing and will flip over,” Wall said. “Crashes into the yards across the street, crashes into the house down on the corner.”
But it hits even closer to home for Wall, literally. She had a vehicle come within a first down of her home a couple of years ago.
“We had an SUV fly through our bushes over there,” Wall said. “It took out some of the neighbor’s property too and landed right here. It was right here, just steps away from our front window. By the time police got here, they had taken off.”
It has gotten to the point that crashes barely phase Wall. Since 2017, the stretch of 76th Street from Hampton Ave. to Mill Road has seen 28 serious or deadly crashes, resulting in 3 deaths and 67 injuries, according to Wisconsin Community Maps.
“It’s just so dangerous,” Wall said. “Really dangerous.”
But salvation may be on the way. Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works announced some 50 projects for the next year to curb reckless driving. Wall’s area of the city will see the third-highest number of projects in the city over the next year, including one of the City’s eight major projects.
“I’m very excited,” Ald. Mark Chambers said. “This particular slip lane right here is one of the biggest accident-causing lanes that we have.”
Chambers met the I-Team at the corner of 76th and Hampton, less than a quarter mile from Wall’s home. The project coming to this intersection looks to eliminate slip lanes, which can allow for drivers going east-west on Hampton Avenue unfettered access to 76th Street so they can maintain speeds when heading north-south on 76th.
“It allows people to take that turn much faster than they would be able to with a regular right turn lane,” Kevin Muhs, City Engineer for DPW said. “If you’re a pedestrian trying to cross there, the drivers are less likely to stop for you. It’s just a dangerous situation.”
It’s something Chambers and the I-Team experienced while crossing the intersection.
“I think we’re good,” Chambers said, peering around the slip lane trying to cross to the concrete refuge island.
“It’s a small part of the road but you got to double-check,” Shaun Gallagher said.
“Right,” Chambers said. “We’ll have this entire concrete, as far as the corner. We won’t have to worry about a car right here, getting up on the curb. I’m looking very forward to this.”
This is a major victory for Chambers. He only recently became an alderman, elected in November of 2022 to fill Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s vacated seat. But Chambers’ journey to running for elected office started not too far from where he met the I-Team at 76th & Hampton. Just over two years ago, and one mile east, his friend Jamaul Jones was killed while helping his brother with his broken-down vehicle. The driver, who had been previously struck by gunfire, ran into Jones while speeding down the street.
“It’s definitely impacted me,” Chambers said. “It’s actually one of the reasons why I decided to run for Alderman in the first place.”
He championed District 2 so projects like this could get done. While this intersection will have dramatic change, it’s one of hundreds of intersections across the city. But Chambers feels it can have a bigger impact in changing driving behaviors.
“I think it just gives an opportunity for people to recalibrate their driving strategies,” Chambers said. “Take a deep breath just to stop and drive safely and get to their destination safely.”
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