MILWAUKEE — An effort to lower residential speed limits to 20 m.p.h. in Milwaukee neighborhoods remains in limbo a year and a half after the project was initially funded.
During a committee meeting on Thursday, alders told the Department of Public Works (D.P.W.) not to hire a consultant for the project until the full Common Council determines whether it is willing to reduce speed limits.
“From the average citizens out there on the streets of Milwaukee, when I’m talking to them, they’re like, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me,’” said Alderman Michael Murphy.
The ongoing debate over whether to lower residential speed limits continues to be met with uncertainty at city hall. Several alders question whether it would be an effective deterrent and if it’s worth the price tag.
“I had constituents laugh at me when I said the ’20 is Plenty’ thing,” said Alderman Scott Spiker.
Back in 2021, the city set aside $1.2 million in Covid relief funds to reduce speed limits in Milwaukee neighborhoods and side streets from 25 to 20 m.p.h. The initial plan would have also lowered speed limits on some of the city’s main corridors by knocking 5 m.p.h. off the posted limit. The funding would have covered the cost of new signage, a consultant to help with several aspects of the project, and a public information campaign to make sure drivers are aware of the change.
However, last month, a Common Council committee voted to remove $500,000 from the project and use those funds to offset the cost of residential speed humps. D.P.W. said it could still lower speed limits on residential streets despite the budget reduction.
On Thursday, Alderman Scott Spiker briefly suggested reallocating the rest of the funds to repave roads.
“The question is is $1.2 million going to be devoted to window dressing that makes us say, ‘hooray, we did something’ when really it didn’t have any effect,” he said during the Finance and Personnel Committee meeting.
Instead of cutting the project’s remaining budget, the committee decided to proceed in a different direction. Committee members directed the D.P.W. to provide a presentation with data in the coming weeks to support why this is a worthy investment.
After that, Common Council members will vote to determine whether alders are willing to pass an ordinance to reduce speed limits. Alderman Murphy says that step should have happened a long time ago.
“I’m not sure why that wasn’t done first because that would have made the most sense before you allocate money for the project to make sure there’s buy-in not only from the common council but from the community at large,” he said.
D.P.W. Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke believes the project should get the green light because other cities like Madison have experienced success in reducing crash-related fatalities and serious injuries. Additionally, he thinks it’s one of many key components to taking a multifaceted approach to curbing reckless driving.
“Any reduction in speed limit takes the overall law-abiding citizen and drops their speed limit down which does directly affect who’s in front or behind them,” Commissioner Kruschke said.
Marybeth McGinnis is the director of ‘Milwaukee Walks’, a program that advocates for pedestrian rights and safety. She believes Milwaukee joining the ’20 is Plenty’ movement is a crucial step toward calming traffic.
“If someone goes 40 miles an hour and hits someone, that person has a 90 percent chance of dying,” she said. “If they get hit at 20 miles an hour, only 10 percent of people will die, so I think when we really focus on only the people going the most egregious speed limits, we kind of miss the whole point that lowering the speeds for everyone, including our everyday people, will save lives.”
D.P.W. is expected to report to a Common Council committee in a few weeks to present its case to city leaders before alders decide for themselves.
