Construction Starts On Safety Upgrades for E. North Ave.

Drivers illegally parked in the damaged protected bike lane in September 2024. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A key corridor through Milwaukee’s East Side will receive a host of design changes to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.

E. North Avenue, from N. Humboldt Boulevard east to N. Prospect Avenue, will receive concrete barriers to protected bike lanes, bus boarding islands, new asphalt, restriped lanes and new sidewalk curb ramps.

Construction started Monday on the project. Eastbound traffic between H. Humboldt Boulevard and N. Farwell Avenue will be blocked through the duration of the project, with a detour suggested to Locust Street. Westbound traffic can still use the corridor and will switch sides of the street to allow work to be completed in November.

The project comes after a 2023 rapid implementation, temporary installation of safety features in the half-mile corridor saw varying levels of success. Protective planters, used to form a protected bike lane, were hit by drivers. Drivers seeking to park would also weave around barriers and ignore signs to illegally park in the protected bike lane between N. Farwell and N. Prospect avenues.

Guided by Mayor Cavalier Johnson, the Department of Public Works has instituted several traffic calming efforts across Milwaukee in an attempt to reduce speeding and the severity of crashes. The strategy is part of a “Vision Zero” goal to eliminate traffic deaths by 2037.

The intersection of N. Farwell and E. North avenues was identified as one of the city’s 10 most dangerous intersections according to a 2019 pedestrian plan and the busiest pedestrian intersection studied by the city.

The permanent improvements, funded by a tax incremental financing district created in 2022, seek to address many of the problem spots, including the frequently violated lane by Ian’s Pizza and Mad Chicken.

Bus bulbs, an extension of the sidewalk that allows riders to board a bus without the vehicle having to pull out of the travel lane, would block motorists from parking in the bike lane. The bike lane would continue through the bulb, a design option which can be seen in new protected lanes on W. Walnut and N. Van Buren streets. The bulbs also function as a bump out, shortening pedestrian crossing distances and blocking dangerous right-side passing.

The permanent improvements have the strong backing of area Alderman Jonathan Brostoff,

“There has been a ton of positive input about this project, and I am looking forward to the coming transformation we will see along East North Avenue,” said Brostoff in a statement. “And I especially want to thank everyone in advance for your patience with this project. Once the dust settles, we will have a nicely improved stretch of East North Avenue that will more safely and efficiently accommodate all commuters and users.”

A DPW webpage includes project information, including detours and designs. The East Side Business Improvement District is also a partner on the project.

The corridor and several surrounding streets could see more public improvements, if new development occurs. The 2022 TIF district was designed to harvest $3.8 million in increased property tax revenues from three planned apartment buildings.

But since the district’s approval, only one of the buildings has moved forward. Kendall Breunig of Sunset Investors is nearly finished with redeveloping a former dairy plant, 1617-1633 E. North Ave., into 17 apartments known as Sunset on North.

Demolition, but not actual construction, occurred on the 1500 block of E. North Avenue for a 56-unit apartment building from Ryan Pattee and Shar Borg. The site has sat vacant for a year.

A third building, for which a zoning change hasn’t been secured, would be developed by Tim Olson on a vacant lot at 1431 E. North Ave., but has not publicly moved forward.

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