Milwaukee Will Build 45 Traffic Calming Projects in 2024

Bike riders on W. Highland Boulevard. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Millions of dollars in funding will be poured into constructing 45 traffic calming projects across Milwaukee in the coming months, joining a record surge of 50 projects in 2023

“We are making a difference on the roadways in Milwaukee,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. “Milwaukee is calming traffic and is simultaneously adding protected bikeways.”

Planned projects include raised crosswalks near schools, new protected bike lanes, completely rebuilding streets, overhauling the KK River Trail and building a wide variety of other improvements. The goal is improve the safety of roadways through the city’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic fatalities.

“Reckless drivers, they infuriate me,” said the mayor, who declared reckless driving a public health crisis in 2021 as his first act in office. He was joined by council members Robert Bauman and Michael Murphy who noted that reckless driving remains a top complaint of residents.

“We have been pushing for these changes for a long time. Engineering takes time. I want to congratulate the Department of Public Works and the Mayor’s Office for making these projects a priority because our citizens are desperate for relief,” said Bauman.

“We hear it constantly, everyday from our constituents, one of the key issues affecting their lives is reckless driving,” said Murphy.

Funding for the projects comes from various sources, including the city’s American Rescue Plan Act grant, tax incremental financing districts and federal and state grants. In several cases, the funding was allocated more than a year ago, but construction had to wait until engineering and design work was completed. The safety-focused design strategy follows the 2018 adoption of a Complete Streets policy to incorporate accommodations for all users, regardless of ability, in any roadway project.

“Milwaukee’s roadways will be safer,” said the mayor. He reiterated his goal of having 50 miles of protected bike lanes completed or under development by 2026. “We are going to make sure our streets are safer for all users.”

“This year’s work will also include more projects than ever before to grow the city’s protected bike lane network,” said City Engineer Kevin Muhs.

The press conference was held at the intersection of N. 38th Street and W. Highland Boulevard where a high-impact paving project last year reduced the number of driving lanes from four to two and included the installation of a protected bike lane between N. 44th and N. 35th streets. A similar project will be built to the east this year, from N. 35th to N. 20th streets.

“Yes, we are making very, very good progress on those goals,” said Johnson.

The projects were praised by Near West Side Partners executive director Lindsey St. Arnold Bell and Wisconsin Bike Fed safe routes to schools project manager Michael Anderson, who both joined the elected officials at the event.

A map of the projects provided by DPW shows that contractors will be dropping orange barrels across the city as they build out the infrastructure.

Some of the projects will include full street reconstructions, like E. Wells Street or Howard Avenue, and will take several months to complete. Others, like raised crosswalks near schools, will include targeted concrete or asphalt installations on existing roadways and will be completed in a handful of days.

Project Map

2024 traffic calming project map. Image from the Department of Public Works.

Press Conference

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