Traffic calming- A how-to guide

Milwaukee, we’ve got a problem. We all know the issue with reckless driving, so much so, that the city has begun it’s campaign on reckless driving in their mission to make the roads across the area safer for everyone. In this month’s installment of Drivers Ed with Debbie, she offers Traffic calming- A how-to guide.

You’re driving along to work and suddenly you notice there aren’t as many lanes on the city street as there used to be. Hey, the curb comes out farther. And why are the cars parked so far away from the sidewalks?

Those, my friends, are called traffic calming measures. It’s all a part of the philosophy that the city has adopted to rectify the reckless driving problem.

Milwaukee DPW’s Multimodal Transportation Manager Mike Amsden says, “It’s not just about the design. It’s kind of this multifaceted approach. Some people call it the many different E’s of street design. There’s engineering, which we do, but there’s also education, enforcement to really make our streets safer.”

Now that’s all well and good, but do you know how to navigate around all these? Well, let’s take a look at some of the measures.

Amsden explains, “We’ve installed a lot of speed bumps throughout the city. We are installing traffic circles throughout the city, so smaller traffic circles, not full roundabouts. Curb extensions or bump outs.”

With those traffic circles, just remember the people already in the circles have the right of way. Luckily, when you only have one lane going through the circle, you don’t have to worry about “dismounting.”

And speed bumps are pretty self-explanatory. Go over them slowly. And as for the curb extensions and bump outs, it’s all about paying attention to your driving and noticing any lane markings.

“But then as you get to some of the bigger streets, we look at, do we have streets that have too many lanes for the amount of traffic? Can we repurpose some of that space for things like better bus service, adding protected bike lanes where people who are riding their bikes are physically separated from the road? All the vehicle traffic,” says Amsden.

All with the idea of getting drivers to pay attention and slow down.

As an example, if you’ve driven down Kilbourn in downtown Milwaukee, outside of the Baird Center construction zone, you’ll notice the lane of traffic next to the parking lane, next to a bike lane and then the sidewalk.

Folks wanting to park near UW Panther Arena have had to really pay attention and not park right next to the curb.

Let’s face it. We can’t just claim ignorance anymore. People are dying out there and it’s all because people either don’t care or more likely just don’t know how to deal with navigating around all these measures.

That’s where the education piece comes in. Beyond making sure each of the new design measures gets covered in the standard driver’s ed courses, there are tons of things that can be done to get the word out there.

Amsden says, “Really focusing on kind of some of that upfront engagement and education, providing good signage that clearly explains how to use the street. We don’t want to come down with a heavy hand right away. We understand that there’s a learning curve, but a lot of it’s on us. We do need to do a better job to provide that information up front.”

Things are happening fast out there and for good reason. Getting these measures in place could save lives and money for the city as well as John Q Driver. But with as fast as everything is getting put in, everyone needs to be on the same page.

“You know, a lot of that is directed by the state. So there’s the state DOT, the state highway safety folks. They need to catch up as well. Is that happening as quickly as street design is changing? Probably not. So what are some of the other things we can do,” explains Amsden.

Taking care of the reckless driving issue we have here in southeast Wisconsin is a bit more complicated than just slapping up a few signs and dropping a few speed bumps in the way. It takes a cooperating and concerted effort to make sure everyone knows how to navigate the streets so they’re as safe as possible.

Bottom line, with all these things that they’re installing, you know the answer.

Say it with me.

S L O W D O W N.

And let’s keep it safe out there.

For more information about how the Wisconsin DOT is implementing traffic calming measure, check here.

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