Milwaukee Traffic Safety Projects To Receive $8.5 Million in TIF Funds

The city hopes to combat a growing reckless driving 'crisis' with traffic calming, bike lanes, and other projects aimed at improving roadway safety.

1 minute read

February 14, 2022, 7:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Downtown Milwaukee

Sean Pavone / Shutterstock

Jeramey Jannene reports on the City of Milwaukee's efforts to eliminate reckless driving, which the acting mayor has called a public safety crisis.

A total of $8.5 million in property tax revenue from four tax incremental (TIF) districts would be allocated to fund traffic calming and safety improvements including protected bike lanes, curb bump-outs, narrower travel lanes, high-impact paving and new pedestrian infrastructure.

The proposal seeks to address rising traffic deaths and reduce dangerous driving behaviors through a variety of traffic calming and safety projects. "It would build on other new initiatives to tackle what is widely viewed as a reckless driving crisis. In 2021, the Common Council allocated $7.15 million from its federal American Rescue Plan Act grant towards projects on 16 corridors, making speed humps free for nearby property owners and lowering the default speed limit from 25 to 20 miles per hour," according to the article. "The proposed projects are located along N. Van Buren St. in Downtown, near the Midtown Center shopping mall on the city’s north side and in the the area around Stadium Business Park and Burnham Park on the city’s south side."

The article details other TIF-funded projects besides street improvements, including a portion of the riverwalk and dockwall and local debt relief.

Friday, February 11, 2022 in Urban Milwaukee

Portland Bus Lane

‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland

Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.

August 30, 2023 - Mass Transit

An aerial view of Milwaukee’s Third Ward.

Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny

The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.

August 27, 2023 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Conceptual rendering of Rikers Island redevelopment as renewable energy facility

Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?

New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?

August 24, 2023 - Mark McNulty

A rendering of the Utah City master planned, mixed-use development.

700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah

A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.

August 31 - Daily Herald

A line of cars wait at the drive-thru window of a starbucks.

More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus

Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.

August 31 - The Denver Post

Air pollution is visible in the air around high-rise buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says

Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.

August 31 - Phys.org