Last one-way stretch of State Street to become two-way

2020 conversion was delayed for demolition

The conversion of the last one-way stretch of downtown’s State Street to two-way traffic will occur next year — work that will help pending development projects.

The proposal to convert State Street from North Market Street to North 6th Street to two-way traffic was approved by the Milwaukee Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett in 2018.

But the project was delayed until the BMO Harris Bradley Center was demolished, said Ald. Robert Bauman, chair of the council’s Public Works Committee.

With that demolition now complete, city officials have scheduled the conversion for early 2020, said Rollin Betran, a Department of Public Works engineer.

Bertran told committee members Wednesday that department officials are working with officials from the Marcus Performing Arts Center and other employers on the street to address any concerns about the conversion.

State Street, which runs in Milwaukee from North Prospect Avenue to the city’s border with Wauwatosa, is twoway except for the roughly six blocks to be converted next year.

Two-way traffic supports urban design principles, improves access to the new Fiserv Forum and improves connections between the new arena and other downtown cultural and entertainment facilities, according to a city traffic study.

Converting State Street to two-way traffic also will improve access for future development sites.

Those include the former Bradley Center site, now owned by the Milwaukee Bucks. Conceptual plans for that site include a hotel, cinema and apartments.

Meanwhile, the Journal Sentinel’s buildings, 333 W. State St., are being sold to investors who plan to redevelop the property with new uses.

Finally, two-way streets can help slow down traffic.

That’s a key point in a city where the severity of car-pedestrian accidents has been increasing in recent years.

That’s according to a new Milwaukee pedestrian plan that the committee endorsed at the Wednesday meeting.

Other downtown streets over the past several years have been converted from one-way to two-way traffic, including Wells Street.