City Wants Your Feedback On Its Plan To End Traffic Deaths
Vision Zero Action Plan includes seven strategies, 100 action items.
Members of the Milwaukee Fire Department respond to a multi-vehicle crash on N. Sherman Blvd. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Milwaukee’s bold vision to dramatically improve safety for all roadway users is ready for public review.
Two upcoming public houses will give the public a chance to make their voices heard on the Vision Zero Action Plan.
Milwaukee formally adopted a goal of ending traffic deaths in 2022 and set a 2037 deadline for achieving the lofty aim. Many of its traffic calming and street reconstruction projects have attempted to move the city toward fewer fatalities and serious injuries, but the new plan attempts to formally harmonize efforts across city government.
The plan includes 100 action items and seven overarching strategies.
“The City of Milwaukee is making important progress toward our Vision Zero goal. While there continues to be too many people seriously injured or killed on our streets, the safe systems approach is working,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “Reckless driving justifiably remains a top concern here, so, there is broad support for the actions we have taken. As you will see in this plan, there is also a commitment to develop new approaches, adapting our response to the scourge of danger on our roads.”
To date in 2025, the city’s Traffic Violence Dashboard identifies 10 deaths, 998 people injured and 685 crashes with injuries. In 2024, the dashboard says 73 people were killed and 5,540 injured across 3,924 crashes. The plan identifies that 10% of streets account for 58% of severe or fatal crashes.
Johnson, as his first act as mayor in 2021, declared reckless driving a public safety crisis. In March, he unveiled the city’s 2025 construction plan, which includes 60 safety-focused projects.
The seven strategies included in the draft plan are to build safe streets for all users by prioritizing the most dangerous roads, supporting accountability in the justice system, supporting vibrant, people-centered places, promoting traffic safety through communication encourage and education, ensuring timely and effective EMS and medical care, advocacy for safer vehicles and champion and advocacy for state-level changes to laws and practices.
Several cities across the country have adopted the vision, which started in Sweden in the 1990s. The most notable American city that achieved the goal was Hoboken, New Jersey.
The action plan is available for review on the City of Milwaukee’s Engage MKE website.
Open Houses
Spanish translation provided at both open houses. Attend for 15 minuts or an hour. No formal presentation.
Monday, April 7
- Online webinar
- 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Tuesday, April 15
- Villard Square Library – 5190 N. 35th St.
- 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 22
- Mitchell Street Library – 906 W. Historic Mitchell St.
- 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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Why isn’t “mandatory driver’s education in schools” part of the vision?
Do you really trust MPS to successfully enact a driver’s ed program?
Continuing to install traffic-calming infrastructure is the only effort that will push deaths and injuries downward. The cops actually enforcing reckless driving laws would probably help, but they seem to have given up on even pulling people over for that.
yes i trust mps to come up with a successful driver’s ed program. can we now stop trashing mps.
let’s talk about the traffic – calming infrastructure that is wrecking cars and causing dangerous right hand turns. (again, my personal pet peeve} i am surprised there are not a ton of accidents at van buren and juneau. and yes, where are the police when some jerk intentionally runs a red light and doesn’t stop at a stop sign. (rolling stops are not stops). so lar, i am not impressed with large speed bumps(on holton) and the incredible amount of concrete at 6th and walnut. do these planners drive in the city?????
It’s not trashing MPS to acknowledge very real, glaring issues with the present administration. You can support public education and still point out problems.
If the choice is between wrecking cars and pedestrians being mowed down, I know which one I’d prefer. Mechanics can fix damaged bumpers, but they can’t bring our neighbors back to life.
If drivers are concerned about potential damage to their cars, that means the infrastructure is working! They’ll drive more cautiously and maybe even pay more attention to the potential consequences of the multi-ton machine they’re piloting.
i am not choosing cars over people, ridiculous to imply that.
Setting a unrealistic goal hurts getting people to support your cause.