Protected Bike Lanes Debut On East Side

Protected bike lanes on E. North Avenue. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

New protected bicycle lanes now line the busy E. North Avenue commercial corridor on Milwaukee’s East Side.

The lanes, formed by a mix of paint, flexible delineators and protective planters, are a “rapid implementation” temporary measure installed by the Department of Public Works in advance of more permanent infrastructure changes.

Running from the E. North Avenue bridge over the Milwaukee River east to N. Prospect Avenue, the lanes are approximately 0.5 miles in length. Additional changes were made to intersecting streets, including adding a protected lane to the block of N. Prospect Avenue north of E. North Avenue.

The lanes were installed in early August, with the East Side Business Improvement District providing the brightly-painted, protective planters.

“Traffic safety has been an increasingly difficult and tragic problem in Milwaukee, which is why I supported these projects and why I’m so happy to see them get started,” said area Alderman Jonathan Brostoff when the installation started. “These new protected bike lanes mark the beginning not the end of improvements to the streets and not only will they will calm traffic, make the pedestrian experience better, and improve bike safety, but they’ll also reduce accidents both in volume and in severity .”

The protected lanes are part of Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s June pledge to build or have under development 50 miles of protected bike lanes by 2026. Johnson said the strategy was a qualify-of-life measure and part of his Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths.

“We are promoting a way of getting around that improves both physical and mental health. And, the addition of protected bike lanes with a defined boundary from the car lane will promote traffic calming and additional safety for all roadway users,” said Johnson in his June State of the City speech.

The protected lanes, and future curb bumpouts, will shorten pedestrian street crossing distances. The barriers also reduce the ability to pass dangerously in the parking lane, known as the “Milwaukee Slide” or baselining, and are expected to reduce speeding.

To create space for the lanes on the north side of the street, a painted bike lane and the parking lane were reversed. Similar to what was first implemented Downtown on E. Kilbourn Avenue, the bike lane hugs the curb while the filled parking spaces form a protective barrier between the bike lane and remaining travel lane.

Parking spaces and a painted bike lane were removed on the south side of the street, with a painted area filled with the plastic posts and planters creating a barrier. One travel lane was maintained in each direction.

The western end of the lanes connects with the existing protected lanes over the North Avenue bridge over the Milwaukee River, first installed in 2019.

The latest implementation hasn’t been flawless. There are no barriers in the eastbound lane near N. Prospect Avenue, where fast-service, delivery-friendly Ian’s Pizza and Mad Chicken are located, and as a result drivers frequently park atop painted symbols indicating it is a bike lane.

In another area, a large vehicle appears to have dragged one of the heavy planters several feet. A number of flexible delineators have been snapped off where drivers haven’t turned properly to avoid slowing down.

Work is expected to begin next year on making more permanent improvements.

In late 2022 the city allocated $3.8 million from a newly-created tax incremental financing district to pay for the improvements, which include upgrading the E. Ivanhoe Pl. pedestrian plaza and a larger area of roadway improvements. Conceptual designs include raised intersections at N. Cambridge Ave. and N. Farwell Ave. Increased tax revenue from three new East Side apartment buildings would provide the majority of the funding needed.

The Kubala Washatko Architects and engineering firm GRAEF are working on the project design, which runs along E. North Ave. from N. Humboldt Ave. in Riverwest to N. Lake Dr. near Lake Michigan.

Copies of the conceptual designs and narrative for the permanent changes are available on Urban Milwaukee.

Other protected bike lanes are planned or under development as part of construction projects involving W. Walnut Street, W. National Avenue and several other corridors.

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