Yesterday, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley took a significant step to curb the trend of reckless driving that has been on the rise in the area. According to a release from Milwaukee County, Crowley, with the support of state, municipal and community partners, signed a resolution to adopt the county’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan (CSAP), an essential component of Milwaukee County's Vision Zero initiative which aims to eliminate traffic deaths by 2037. The plan is set to address safety concerns on Milwaukee County’s identified 25 Corridors of Concern and will also help to secure federal funds to bolster these efforts.
With this new comprehensive strategy, the administration hopes to effectively reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries, a necessity made urgent as the county has seen a 42% increase in such incidents from 2020 to 2022 when compared to the previous decade. "Today is an important milestone in our commitment to enhance the safety of our roads," Crowley was quoted saying in the Milwaukee County official announcement. He went on to emphasize the need for collaborative action to implement a unified county strategy aimed at saving lives and improving the quality of life for residents. The CSAP reportedly outlines 522 potential safety project opportunities which, if enacted, could curtail fatal and serious injury crashes by 38% on average at the targeted locations, and by 18% overall in the county.
Among the plans laid out, 142 locations have been prioritized for safety projects that range from road diets to signal improvements. The Action Plan also suggests various policy changes at the municipal, county, and state levels that could further contribute to safer multimodal transportation and reduced speeding. MCDOT Director Donna Brown-Martin expressed optimism in a statement provided by Milwaukee County, highlighting the alignment of leadership, collaboration, and commitment as drivers in reaching this milestone.
By adopting this Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, Milwaukee County and its 19 municipalities are now eligible to apply for federal grants that would support a selection of high-priority safety projects. This ground-breaking effort not only supports infrastructural enhancements but builds on work begun in 2023 with the Complete Communities Transportation Planning Project. This project, Crowley noted in the release, aimed to identify areas where the community needed to focus resources to elevate safety for all travelers, whether they’re driving, cycling, or walking. An important next step includes the initiation of Phase Three, where each of the county’s municipalities will start to develop their own tailored action plans.
Safety in Milwaukee is evidently continuing to advance with this multi-layered approach. From interactive tools like the Motor Vehicle Collision (MVC) Dashboard introduced to inform locals and policy-makers about collision data, to temporary street safety improvements demonstrated in various municipalities, Milwaukee County is striving to cut down the alarming rates of traffic incidents.
