A Mix of Speed Hump and Crosswalk, New Street Feature All About Safety

Alison Peterson and Aubrey Jannene cross the S. Howell Avenue raised crosswalk. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

It’s now safer to cross the heavily trafficked street between Parkside School for the Arts and Humboldt Park. And by the fall of 2024, City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Public Schools officials plan to increase safety by slowing traffic near 19 other schools.

Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic joined Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Parkside Principal Lila Hillman, students and other officials Monday morning to celebrate a new raised crosswalk across S. Howell Avenue.

With a less severe pitch than an asphalt speed hump, the raised crosswalk is a concrete pad added atop the existing roadway. Motorists can safely drive over it at the speed limit and pedestrians receive a much safer and smoother crossing.

“It’s very exciting because, of course, you’re going to slow down one way or another. If you’re not willing to slow down, you could actually damage your car,” said Dimitrijevic.

Vehicles must cross what is effectively a small mound on the roadway. The crosswalk is fully accessible for wheelchairs, strollers and other mobility devices.

“This is just one of a wide range of approaches we are taking to reduce traffic crashes that happen here on our streets,” said Johnson, endorsing the need for engineering, education and enforcement to combat reckless driving.

Hillman said the area, 2969 S. Howell Ave., is “quite busy” during pickup and dropoff when 850 students come and go via bike, foot, bus or family vehicle. A total of 34 school buses and more than 100 vehicles use the area and visibility can be limited. The crosswalk is installed at the northern edge of the school, at E. Dewey Place. “I have been a strong advocate for years for traffic calming improvements here to help keep our students, staff and families safe,” said the principal.

But the new crosswalk will benefit more than just students, with Dimitrijevic listing off a long series of popular events. Last year, E. Oklahoma Avenue on the south side of the park received pinned-on curb bump-outs designed to reduce illegal passing and shorten pedestrian crossing distances as part of a separate federally-backed program. As part of the city’s traditional speed hump program in 2024, a series of humps will be installed along E. Montana Street on the park’s northern border. East-west curb bump-outs were previously installed at E. Montana Street and E. Dewey Place.

The S. Howell Avenue corridor, with no signals between E. Lincoln Avenue and E. Oklahoma Avenue, has been the site of several reckless driving incidents in recent years. A hit-and-run just north of the school and park killed a pedestrian in 2019. In December 2022, a driver crashed in the same spot. Last November, a police chase went through the area, ending with a crash in the park.

Parkside will be shortly joined by two other schools, Forest Home Avenue School (1516 W. Forest Home Ave.) and Hayes Bilingual Elementary School (971 W. Windlake Ave.). The first three crosswalks were part of a $200,000 contract award.

The project is being funded with $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, part of a $3.5 million allocation to the City from Governor Tony Evers. Additional funding from that award is to go for a project near N. 35th Street and W. Capitol Drive.

“The safety of our students is of the utmost importance to Milwaukee Public Schools,” said MPS Chief School Administration Officer Katrice Cotton. “We want our children to be able to walk or bike safely to their neighborhood schools.”

The raised crosswalk increases the height, and therefore the visibility, of some of the city’s littlest residents – children – said City Engineer Kevin Muhs. He said the Department of Public Works had a list of “30 to 35” schools it was reviewing to determine which projects to advance next. Some locations would likely prove unsuitable for a raised crosswalk. Muhs praised DPW’s in-house multi-modal unit for designing the crosswalks, which saved time and money.

Why not a speed hump? Muhs said the asphalt humps are better suited for side streets with fewer than 3,000 daily vehicles. The higher pitch of a speed hump can cause county buses to bottom out, becoming stuck, and causes drivers to slow to less than 15 mph. The city has also deployed speed tables in other areas of the city, including on S. Superior Street further east in Bay View, that are similar to raised crosswalks, but do not include the fully accessible pedestrian crossing.

Photos