Milwaukee Traffic Calming Projects Take Aim at Reckless Driving

As Jeramey Jannene reports, Milwaukee's Department of Public Works tested three traffic calming improvements in 2021 as "part of a growing effort by the City of Milwaukee to use infrastructure to prevent or deter reckless driving," which some experts have called a public health epidemic. 

The projects, which cost the city $300,000, included curb extensions, delineators, and high-visibility crosswalks on three corridors and are intended to test the effectiveness of the various strategies. The traffic calming initiatives reduce the distance pedestrians need to cross and prevent drivers from passing in non-driving lanes.

"The three paint-and-post projects build on five 2020 projects that included lane restriping, paint-and-post treatments and other reconfigurations. One 2020 project, N. 27th St., was already upgraded to include one-ton planters atop the painted curb extensions," according to the article. The city plans to use $3.8 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan to implement 16 similar projects next year, following Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson's pledge to address reckless driving as a public health crisis.