Milwaukee Pedestrian Plan Addresses Walkability

Cinnamon Janzer reports on the recently released draft of the Milwaukee Pedestrian Plan. While the city has seen a slight decrease in pedestrian crashes in recent years, the number of severe and fatal crashes has risen. As a result, pedestrian safety and walkability are key focuses of the new plan.

City officials say the pedestrian plan is being modeled after Milwaukee’s successful 2010 bike master plan. Community engagement is also an important feature of the pedestrian plan, says Janzer:

For example, one recommendation is to provide ways for people to report access problems. An accompanying action item would have the city urge residents to report snow and ice issues in addition to damaged sidewalks and inaccessible transit stops by phone and online. Another snow-focused action item tied to maintaining sidewalks year-round is about educating property owners on their snow removal responsibilities so that they can be relied upon to stay on top of day-to-day management.

The city also wants to see pedestrian planning better incorporated into street design and complete streets planning. "While cost will be a hurdle to clear, Mike Amsden, the city’s multimodal transportation manager, notes that many of the action items won’t require new funding — just a different way of thinking about and using the money that’s already been allocated," notes Janzer.