Three Cities in Milwaukee County Test Strategies to Combat Reckless Driving, Make Roads Safer for All Users
MILWAUKEE COUNTY – Three cities in Milwaukee County are launching temporary traffic safety projects to study proposed improvements to advance the County’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2037.
The traffic calming demonstration activities, coordinated by the cities of South Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, and West Allis, are funded with help from a collaborative grant effort led by the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation (MCDOT). They use temporary measures like portable speed humps, speed data trailers, flashing signs, and near-miss cameras to test strategies to combat reckless driving, calm traffic, and improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, bus riders, and motorists.
“We must work together to make deliberate, data-driven decisions to save lives and reduce crashes on our roadways. That’s why Milwaukee County’s Vision Zero efforts are focused on engaging communities and residents, while providing resources to help everyone take action,” said County Executive David Crowley. “These demonstration activities will study how best to avoid certain types of crashes and understand why certain intersections and roadway segments are so hazardous.”
This is the second round of activities, funded through a federal grant secured by Milwaukee County in 2023. They will build upon work conducted in spring 2025 by reusing equipment, purchasing additional testing equipment and cameras, and by gathering new traffic data.
Demonstration Activities Include:
- City of South Milwaukee: The City of South Milwaukee purchased new blinker signs, in addition to traffic barrels, cones, and lighted signage purchased in the first round of demonstration activities, to improve pedestrian safety at the intersection of 11th Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue. The equipment will be used to add pedestrian-activated flashing signs and test temporary curb extensions that shorten crossing distances and improve pedestrian visibility.
- City of Wauwatosa: The City of Wauwatosa will use two Miovision Near-Miss Detection cameras purchased during the previous round of demonstration activities to conduct a near-miss study along Burleigh St. and North Ave. This study will supplement data collected during two near-miss studies conducted last year.
- City of West Allis: Two movable speed humps from various manufacturers will be installed on Rita Drive between 52nd and 57th streets as part of an ongoing study to identify the most effective models for future traffic calming efforts. The City will also use previously purchased Miovision cameras to conduct a near-miss study at the intersection of 76th Street and Lincoln Avenue. This work will help build on a prior demonstration study.
The demonstration activities were informed, in part, by community feedback received at public engagement meetings conducted by MCDOT in each of the three participating municipalities as part of Milwaukee County’s Complete Communities Transportation Planning Project.
This work is funded by a nearly $220,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. Municipalities collaborated to contribute nearly $55,000 in additional local funding for the projects.
About Milwaukee County’s Goal to Achieve Vision Zero by 2037
Milwaukee County has an ambitious goal of achieving Vision Zero—zero fatal and serious injury crashes on all roadways in Milwaukee County—by 2037. This goal aligns with the international “Vision Zero” initiative, which was first adopted in Sweden and has since spread around the world.
To achieve Vision Zero, Milwaukee County launched the Complete Communities Transportation Planning Project, a safety initiative to increase multimodal safety and address reckless driving across all communities in Milwaukee County through an assessment of County roadways, development of a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, and development of Municipal Safety Action Plans for each of Milwaukee County’s 19 municipalities.
Learn more about Milwaukee County’s efforts to combat reckless driving.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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