Make Wisconsin Ave. great again
Wisconsin Avenue between the Milwaukee River and Marquette University serves about as many bus passengers as automobiles — 10,000 to 13,000 a day. This high-use transit corridor is ideal for bus rapid transit, which is more efficient than current buses because of dedicated bus lanes, passenger stations with level boarding platforms, fewer stops and traffic signal priority.
An east-west corridor BRT line between downtown and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center could establish the beginning of a high-quality rapid transit system in the region. BRT could make travel times competitive with driving in the core corridor, attract new development near stations, improve road safety, reduce emissions and improve bus boarding for people with disabilities. As one of 11 of the largest 40 metro regions in the United States currently without a rapid transit system, BRT could enhance Milwaukee’s competitiveness.
BRT also offers an opportunity to transform the character of Wisconsin Avenue from an automobile-focused thoroughfare with buses weaving in and out of traffic into a signature street at the heart of Milwaukee. The students in my fall semester bus rapid transit course asked how Wisconsin Avenue could become safer and more enjoyable for all types of travelers. Their final products show dedicated bus lanes, green medians, separated bicycle lanes, high-visibility pedestrian crossings, wide sidewalks and stations that can spur new development. They recommend transforming Wisconsin Avenue west of I-43 from a thoroughfare with four lanes that often allow drivers to speed into a street that is more organized and safer for all users.
This redesigned Wisconsin Avenue could be more attractive for residents, businesses, schools and places of worship and help unify the north and south sides of Marquette’s campus rather than divide it. Between the Milwaukee River and I-43, Wisconsin Avenue’s current mix of merging buses and automobiles and no dedicated bicycle space is a barrier to social interaction in downtown. BRT can be integrated into a new pedestrian-oriented Wisconsin Avenue that complements local business, tourist and entertainment activities at the new Grand Avenue mall, Grand Theater, Convention Center and convention hotels.
This vision emphasizes Wisconsin Avenue as Milwaukee’s Main Street. It also challenges predominant thinking about how we use our public space. Milwaukee, like other regions across the country, prioritized mobility and storage for automobiles on most streets during the second half of the 20th century, and this legacy continues today. In this context, it is not surprising that the recent Journal Sentinel headline, “Report: Bus Rapid Transit would Reduce Car Lanes” (Jan. 4) captured attention.
But automobile movement and storage does not need to be the primary function of every street. Cities across the country are redesigning streets to support more travel choices and social interaction. In the last decade, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Denver, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Chicago, Oakland and Seattle have converted automobileoriented street space into bus lanes, bike lanes or other gathering places.
Milwaukee has taken small steps to join these cities in recent years. South 2nd St. was converted from four lanes to two lanes with bicycle lanes, helping to support the growth of a vibrant new restaurant district in Walker’s Point. This street joined other successful, pedestrian-oriented corridors, such Brady St. on the East Side, Kinnickinnic Ave. in Bay View, Oakland Ave. in Shorewood and North Ave. in Wauwatosa.
We can reconsider how public street space is used. The east-west corridor BRT is an opportunity to start a high-quality regional transit system and transform Wisconsin Avenue into a true Main Street for Milwaukee.