WAUWATOSA, Wis. — The City of Wauwatosa began a test run to prevent drivers from illegally using the bike and parking lanes to pass traffic at a busy intersection.
Crews set up orange barrels near the crosswalk at North Avenue and North 90th Street to mimic curb extensions.
The frustration of crossing North Avenue is almost routine for Lisa Krejcarek.
"It's petrifying actually," Krejcarek said.
Krejcarek regularly walks with her and her friend's children to McKinley Elementary which is close to that intersection.
"There are always cars that use this (bike lane) to sneak by," Krejcarek said.
"It's never a surprise to us to hear a sound of somebody hitting a car," Carolyn Miskell said.
Miskell works at Tosa Dental and says avoids crossing the street after a dangerously close call.
"The car behind went to pass, and that was a car that was the near miss," Miskell said.
"The residents of a particular neighborhood are the most important people for us to hear from," Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride said.
City leaders said the barrels went up thanks to feedback from neighbors. They will stay up for a few weeks as the Department of Public Works monitors their effectiveness.
Depending on the results, the city could make permanent changes to improve safety.
"When you have to redo the curbs and streets all that that costs a lot of money. So we're looking for the most important spots to spend that money to make sure we create safer roads for everyone," Mayor McBride said.
"They did it further down on North Avenue. I've seen it on Capitol and so forth. I would love to have that here," Krejcarek stated.
"I think trying anything would be an exciting approach," Miskell said.
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.
