MILWAUKEE – Whether you work at Ascension Hospital, are stopping by Crossroads Collective for a bite to eat, or are simply navigating from I43 to Bradford Beach, you’ve likely noticed some road infrastructure changes on the stretch of North Avenue passing through Milwaukee’s East Side.
Last month, 3rd District Alderman Jonathan Brostoff set into motion plans to make already existing bike lanes on the street protected. After weeks of work re-painting city street lines and installing both concrete planters and plastic delineators, the stretch of bike lanes between the Milwaukee River and Prospect Avenue, as well as Prospect from North to Maryland Montessori School, is now separated from the main road.
Early feedback on the project has been mostly positive.
“We’ve had people reach out from the immediate area, people who work and travel there, and people who just come in over the weekends.” Brostoff tells WTMJ. “Overwhelmingly been positive, with some exceptions.”
Some of those exceptions come from drivers unhappy with the more narrow feel to driving on North Avenue now, as well as from cyclists complaining that drivers have been parking on the bike lane and taking out the plastic delineators. While biking the route Wednesday, I noted some of the missing plastic dividers, as well as construction equipment taking up a portion of the lane near North and Oakland.
Still, Brostoff believes people will learn to adjust to the new system with time, and that more traffic calming measures are coming to the area (I’ll touch on these in a moment).
The idea of protected bike lanes is not a new one in the city; In a survey conducted by the Path to Platinum initiative in fall 2016, 88% of the 933 respondents overwhelmingly desired biking improvements with more separation from motor vehicles. Kilbourn Avenue downtown between Water Street and Jackson has them, and the on-going redesign of Walnut Street west of 17th is incorporating them as well.
Each project, Brostoff says, is one way the city is fighting against the epidemic of reckless driving. “If we’re going to get serious about reckless driving, and a healthier, safer, more walkable city, steps like this are really important.”
As for the cost of the project, as of this month the estimated price tag will be 3.8 million dollars, which may seem like a lot to invest in a half-mile stretch of road. But as Brostoff notes that everything has been done to get the most bang for the buck, saying that very easily 15 to 20 million dollars could have been spent.
Ultimately, the goal is for other Common Council members are take notes on the North and Walnut projects, and find ways they can both improve cyclist and pedestrian safety in their own districts. “That was part of the thinking from the beginning is we have an opportunity on a main thoroughfare to really set some precedent and do some exciting stuff. It’s certainly replicable elsewhere.”
Up next for the east side project will be implementing traffic calming measures at the intersections of North and Farwell, Prospect, and Cambridge Avenues. If work proceeds as planned, Brostoff says it should be completed in the next year.
