The Brief
Milwaukee DPW is redesigning a stretch of Michigan Street in the downtown area.
The redesign is set to help reduce reckless driving.
The construction project is set to be complete by the end of the 2025.
MILWAUKEE - A new road construction project in downtown Milwaukee is getting ready to kickoff. Its redesign is set to help reduce reckless driving.
Redesigning Michigan Street
What we know
On Michigan Street, people are constantly on the move.
From the parks and sidewalks, Olivia Hansen sees a lot happening on the busy street. From her pedestrian perspective, there is good and bad.
"I would say 8 out of 10 for safety," Hansen said.
The City of Milwaukee, however, wants to make Michigan Street a 10 out of 10.
The project
Dig deeper
A new project will transform Michigan Street between Water Street and N. 10th Street.
The project is near businesses like Fiserv and Milwaukee Tool – along with Zeidler Union Square.
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Officials with the Milwaukee DPW said the project will include traffic calming measures, protected bike lanes, green infrastructure and bus boarding islands.
What they're saying
"There’s not a lot of traffic relative to how big the street is. That presents an opportunity for us to think about using the street differently," said Kevin Muhs of Milwaukee DPW. "Making it safer looks like going from two lanes in each direction to one through traffic lane in each direction plus left turn lanes. We call that a three-lane cross-section."
A big goal is to reduce reckless driving. City data shows the posted speed is 30 miles an hour, but a few drivers hit well over 60 mph.
"It’s kind of an intermittent but strong hazard. We wanted to do what we could to make the street more comfortable for everybody," Muhs said.
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The Downtown Business Improvement District supported the project.
DPW officials say the work is set to be done by the end of 2025.
The Source
The information in this post was provided by the Milwaukee Department of Public Works.
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