‘Mini Roundabouts’ Planned for Holton, 51st Streets

Mini roundabout in San Diego. Image from Google Maps.

Two Milwaukee streets will be among the first streets in Wisconsin to receive new “mini roundabouts.”

Traffic lights would be removed on select intersections along N. Holton and N. 51st streets in favor of concrete islands. The roundabouts, as proposed by the Department of Public Works, are intended to reduce speeds and maintenance costs.

“The goal of the roundabouts is to provide an all-day, continuous, 24/7 slowing capability,” said City Engineer Kevin Muhs to the Public Works Committee on July 10.

A concrete circle would be placed in the middle of the street, requiring a slight deviation for motorists, but the size of the intersection would not change. Vehicles could drive over much of the roundabout in an emergency, though they would need to mount a small curb.

“These are smaller than roundabouts than you may have seen in more suburban contexts outside of the city,” said Muhs. He said they are also smaller than the three existing roundabouts in the city.

The engineer said the two streets were selected because they have frequent complaints about speeding and aging traffic signals that aren’t necessary given existing traffic volumes. Eliminating the signals would reduce long-term maintenance costs.

Muhs said the idea is being designed based on similar projects in Los Angeles and San Diego.

“It actually took two rounds of applications to get approval for these from [the Wisconsin Department of Transportation] because there aren’t examples nearby,” said Muhs.

The projects are being funded by the state’s Highway Safety Improvement Program. Muhs said the city has historically been using the program to fund the replacement of traffic lights with monotube traffic lights that provide a traffic signal for each lane instead of lights at the corner

“The basic idea here was to try to look at the nature of the program and use it for more of the things that we’re hearing from the public are a challenge on the streets for safety in the city,” said Muhs.

“They’re slightly bigger than what we’ve been calling the traffic circles,” said David Tapia, DPW’s major projects manager.

Seven traffic circles have been in place for multiple decades on N. Newhall Street,  N. Bartlett Avenue and N. Cambridge Avenue, all of which have lower traffic volumes, on the East Side. Others can be found in Brewers Hill. A handful of circles have been added across the city in recent years.

On N. Holton Street, the border of the Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods, the “mini roundabouts” would be installed at the intersections with E. Keefe Avenue, E. Concordia Avenue and E. Burleigh Street.

On N. 51st Street, in the Saint Joseph and Sunset Heights neighborhoods around St. Joseph Hospital, the roundabouts would be installed at the intersections with W. Hadley Street, W. Locust Street, W. Chambers Street and W. Keefe Avenue.

Design would occur first, with residents given a chance to provide input.

“The construction year hasn’t been set by [WisDOT],” said Tapia.

“No earlier than the 2026 construction season, probably later than that,” said Muhs.

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs said she is okay with the project advancing now “because we’re still in the ‘let’s see phase'” and looks forward to receiving feedback from area residents. “I don’t want to be up against a clock saying ‘we have to accept this money,'” said the alderwoman.

The full council unanimously approved the design funding on July 30.

Funding for the design will come primarily from the federally-backed state program. For the Holton Street project, the city will contribute $23,175 to the $231,750 project. For the 51st Street project, the city will contribute $27,200 to a $272,000 project.

Future construction costs, which require additional council approval, are estimated at $1.47 million for Holton Street and $1.52 million for 51st Street. The city is expected to be required to cover 10% of the cost.

Milwaukee’s multi-pronged approach to address reckless driving has taken on many forms in recent years. One recent addition is the installation of concrete jersey barriers to prevent reckless drivers from leaving the roadway near the roundabout at S. 6th Street and W. Virginia Street.

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Related Legislation: File 240372, File 240373