Milwaukee awarded $8M federal grant to fund safer streets

$8 million grant for safer streets

Milwaukee has been awarded an $8 million federal grant to fund targeted safety improvements on N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and W. Forest Home Avenue.

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee has been awarded an $8 million federal grant to fund targeted safety improvements on N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and W. Forest Home Avenue. 

Safer streets funding

What we know:

A news release says the 2025 Safe Streets and Roads for All Implementation Grant will be used to reduce speeding on both corridors and improve safety for all roadway users, with a particular focus on making streets safer for children. 

The city will be enhancing pedestrian crossings, improving transit boarding areas, and adding traffic-calming features, focusing on improvements near schools, health and childcare facilities, libraries, and parks. 

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The total project budget is $10,000,000, which includes a $2 million local match requirement that the city will contribute.

Project details

Dig deeper:

The Safe Streets for Kids project will address a 1.7-mile segment of N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive between N. 7th Street and W. North Avenue and a 1.0-mile segment of W. Forest Home Avenue from W. Historic Mitchell Street to W. Lincoln Avenue. Both street segments are part of the City’s High Injury Network. 

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Officials said in the release this "project will comprehensively address safety problems on this corridor by incorporating Complete Street interventions that are proven to reduce crash risk such as bus bulbs, narrower travel lanes, reduced curb radii, curb extensions, leading pedestrian intervals, and raised intersections or crosswalks. These features provide more space and shorter crossings for people walking, while reducing speeding and opportunities for passing illegally on the right. They also improve transit safety and comfort by providing more space for riders to board and alight or wait for buses, and make it more convenient for riders to transfer between routes when crossing streets. Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) will be installed where needed at signalized intersections, which will assist people with visual and audible impairments by creating safer and more efficient crossings at signalized intersections along the corridor. This project will also resurface both streets."