Can Milwaukee Achieve Zero Traffic Deaths?

Mayor Cavalier Johnson signs Vision Zero action plan. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Can Milwaukee actually achieve what no other major American city has achieved and eliminate deaths on its roadways?

Known as Vision Zero, it’s a goal many cities are pursuing. Milwaukee now boasts an action plan designed to guide decision making for everyone from traffic engineers to judges.

“It will not be easy, but the 100 actions in the plan are what all of us must do collectively in order to save lives,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson at a press conference Tuesday morning at Zocalo Food Park.

“This is an issue that touches everybody and it shows by how many people were involved in the plan,” said Vision Zero policy director Jessica Wineberg to a crowd of dozens of onlookers. “Together, we are already making great progress on safer streets. We’ve seen a 7% decrease in traffic deaths from 2023 to 2024 and we know that if we continue to implement recommendations in the Vision Zero plan, those will go down and down, getting towards our goal of zero.”

Upon taking office in late 2021, Johnson declared reckless driving a public safety crisis as his first act. The city adopted a formal Vision Zero policy in 2022. Wineberg was hired as the policy director in 2023, responsible for implementation across all city departments.

The new action plan, unanimously adopted by the Common Council last week, includes seven strategies: 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 and education; ensuring timely and effective EMS and medical care advocacy for safer vehicles; and champion and advocate for state-level changes to laws and practices.

Tuesday’s press conference might have triggered a sense of deja vu for Johnson and Wineberg.

In 2018, they were present at a signing ceremony held a block to the east when then-Mayor Tom Barrett signed the city’s Complete Streets policy into effect. Effectively a stepping stone to Vision Zero, the policy called for street design projects to accommodate all users, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. Johnson was then an alderman, Wineberg an organizer with the Wisconsin Bike Fed.

On Tuesday, they celebrated pushing the policy beyond just traffic engineering to a comprehensive way of thinking about safety.

“We’re all here because too many lives, unfortunately, are still being lost,” said Johnson. “Now, while there continues to be too many people who are seriously injured or killed on our streets, the Vision Zero approach is already working in Milwaukee.”

“We’re redesigning 9% of the streets where 59% of the serious crashes happen, we’re using tax incremental financing in order to build safer infrastructure. We’re also working to improve how we handle unlicensed drivers to keep the most egregious ones off of the roadway in Milwaukee. We’ve equipped some fire department paramedics with whole blood to make sure that we’re able to save the lives of crash victims before things turn for the worse… We invite the entire community and all of our partners at all levels of government to join us to be part of the solution to make the streets safer right here in Milwaukee.”

Much has already changed since Johnson took office as the mayor in late 2021.

“Since I’ve been mayor, the streets have undergone this incredible transformation, making it safer for everybody,” said Johnson in an interview after the signing. “We’ve really dug in and tackled the issue of reckless driving.” He touted the city’s work to use federal funding to install pinned-on curb bumpouts to prevent right-hand passing, the development of a network of 50 miles of protected bike lanes, “road diet” projects that have reduced speed and enforcement strategies, like the Milwaukee Police Department‘s Traffic Safety Unit. “We’ve had continual progress, I think, working to make the streets safer and safer in the city.”

Several cities across the country have adopted Vision Zero goals, 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.

Other speakers at Tuesday’s press conference included Celia Jackson, a former deputy city attorney who leads an anti-reckless driving coalition, and AAA Wisconsin director of public affairs Nick Jarmusz.

A City of Milwaukee Traffic Violence Dashboard says that in 2025, 21 people have died from 1,566 crashes with injuries.

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