Lake Drive in Shorewood (which is part of State Highway 32) will be reconstructed in 2026, and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation last night unveiled two proposed designs for how Lake Drive will be configured once re-built, with both plans including designated bike lanes.
The New Proposed Designs
In Option 1, “most” of Lake Drive in Shorewood would have on it 6-foot-wide bike lanes for both southbound and northbound lanes.
In Option 2, “most” of Lake Drive in Shorewood would have on it 5-foot-wide bike lanes instead, plus a 4-foot “buffer lane” between the northbound bike lane, and the northbound parking lane.
The “buffer” lane is intended to decrease the risk of cyclists getting “doored” by persons parking their vehicles in the northbound parking lane.
We say above “most” because
near Capitol Drive, in the new designs there is a stretch of Lake Drive where
the bike lanes are eliminated (so as to provide space for turn lanes), and “sharrows”
(rather than bike lanes) are instead marked on the road.
For full details as to these two proposed options, click on this link.
Under both of the current proposed designs, parking will be eliminated on the westside of Lake Drive, and no widening of Lake Drive occurs.
Other Traffic Calming Features of the Proposals
Other traffic calming measures are also included in the two current proposals, such as pedestrian “bump outs” at certain intersections. Some during the presentation asked the DOT to consider instead adding “center median islands” (as have been added on Wilson Drive in Shorewood), believing those would be better and safer for pedestrians. Several attendees also advocated for adding “blinking light” pedestrian crosswalks (as Whitefish Bay added on Lake Drive).
New Proposals Compared to Prior Proposals
There has been controversy over the DOT's prior proposals, especially DOT’s proposal last year (one that would have widened Lake Drive at certain points so as to preserve parking on the westside of Lake Drive, add bike lanes, at the cost of eliminating some current trees on Lake Drive). The DOT listened to resident comments against that proposal, and that proposal is now off the table.
Comments by Attendees at the Public Involvement Meeting regarding Bike Lanes
An estimated 40 people attended the in-person presentation at the Village meeting room, and an estimated 30 attended the online presentation.
Some at the meetings spoke in favor of the new bike lanes and new pedestrian amenities, arguing that such would have a “traffic calming” affect on Lake Drive, which would make Lake Drive safer for everyone (drivers, residents, pedestrians and bike riders).
Some at the meetings asked the DOT to consider an additional design proposal, one that would have both of the bike lanes be “protected” bike lanes.
Traditional "regular" painted-on bike lanes increase cyclist safety (the DOT spokesman said by somewhere between 25% and 75%), but protected bike lanes are the preferred, safer-alternative to traditional bike lanes. Protected bike lanes not only are better for bike riders, they are better for drivers too. As stated in this online article:
As reported by Science Daily, researchers studied
data on traffic fatalities in 12 US cities and found that those streets with
protected bike lanes had the highest mode share of people riding bikes
(remember, protected bike lanes enable more people to feel safe biking, so more
people do it) and lower fatality rates for all road users, not just cyclists.
Fatalities fell by over 38% in Chicago, 40% in Denver, nearly 50% in San
Francisco, 60% in Seattle, and a whopping 75% in Portland, OR. What these
cities had in common were protected bike lanes. The researchers concluded that:
“…building safe facilities for cyclists is one of the biggest factors in road
safety for everyone. Bicycling infrastructure -- specifically, separated and
protected bike lanes -- leads to fewer fatalities and better road-safety
outcomes for all road users.”
(Emphasis added.)
If the DOT were to prepare and present for consideration a design proposal for protected bike lanes, that would involve the following. As to the northbound side of the street, that would involve a design option whereby the order of the parking lane and the bike lane on the northbound side of the road would be reversed. Currently (as shown in the above diagrams), under the DOT’s proposed design for the northbound side of the road, the order of the lanes is: (1) parking lane next to the curb, then (2) bike lane, then (3) “car-traffic” travel lane. To create a protected lane for bike riders, the bike lane would be put next to the curb, then would come the parking lane, then would come the car-traffic lane. Such would create a “buffer” between cyclists, and cars traveling on Lake Drive (which has a 30 mph speed limit).
If a protected bike lane were to be created on westside of the road, that would involve still having the southbound bike lane next to the curb, but then some type of differentiation between the bike lane and the vehicle-travel lane (for example, the bike lane could be raised, or there could be a “curb” between the two lanes, or a row of bollards could separate the two lanes).
During the virtual session, a question was also asked about creating a bi-lateral, combined protected bike lane on the eastside of Lake Drive. The DOT spokesperson responded that such was not being proposed for a couple of reasons, including the DOT is concerned that other communities (such as Milwaukee, Whitefish Bay and Fox Point) might not support such bike bi-lateral lanes, and is worried that if such is the case, having such lanes in Shorewood (for a distance of less than 1.3 miles) might cause confusion for cyclists.
Comments in Opposition to Elimination of Westside Parking
Some at the meeting questioned the need for dedicated bike lanes. The DOT spokesperson responded that bike lanes are required to be included in any new design and reconstruction of Lake Drive under Federal and State Law, given the results of the DOT’s parking study.
At least one attendee argued that eliminating parking on the westside of Lake Drive was inconsistent with Shorewood values of “equity and inclusion.” The attendee argued that eliminating parking spaces would place a burden on those persons who drive to use Atwater Park and Beach (including from Milwaukee), who in the future may have to walk further if they park further away from Atwater Park and Beach. The DOT spokesperson responded that the DOT’s study indicated that there was an adequate amount of parking spaces within a “ten-minute walk” radius of Atwater Park, and that studies show that persons often are willing to walk up to ten-minutes to get to recreational spaces (like parks and beaches). Based on those studies, the DOT concluded that the elimination of parking on the westside of Lake Drive would not prevent people who drive from accessing the park, or unduly discourage their use of the park.
The same attendee also indicated she opposed the elimination of parking spaces on the westside of Lake Drive, because she wanted private service providers who provide services to property owners on the westside of Lake Drive (such as landscaping companies, or snow removal companies), to have free, on-street parking on the westside of Lake Drive, so that employees of such companies would not be parking on the eastside of Lake Drive, and then crossing Lake Drive to properties on the westside of Lake Drive (either with or without lawncare or snow-removal equipment). (Another person at the meeting responded that they saw such a concern as not well founded, as such service providers can park their vehicles on the driveways owned by the residents who hire the service providers.) The same attendee also indicated that she believed the designs did not adequately take into consideration the needs of “elderly people” (people in their 70’s and above), who may want to (or need to) be able to park closer to Atwater Park, when they want to go to Atwater Park or Beach. The DOT spokesperson responded that the Village has the authority (if it wants to), to create handicap parking spaces (either in the park or on the street), so as to accommodate the needs of some park users who have mobility issues.
One resident on the westside of Lake Drive indicated she was concerned that if the parking lane is eliminated on the westside of Lake Drive (and there being instead a bike lane next to the curb on the westside of the road) that such would result in it being more difficult (and less safe) for residents on the westside of Lake Drive to be able to back their vehicles out of their driveways and onto Lake Drive (especially in the mornings on weekdays, when vehicle traffic volumes on Lake can be higher than at other times of the day/week).
Finally, one resident noted that in Shorewood there already exists “three north-south biking options,” referring to the bike lanes on Downer and Oakland, and the Oak Leaf Trail. To the resident, this indicated that bike lanes did not need to be included on Lake Drive. The DOT spokesperson responded that bike lanes would need to be included on a re-constructed Lake Drive as required by State and Federal Law, given the results of the DOT’s parking study. (In actuality, cyclists choose to ride on Lake Drive rather than Downer avenue for a variety of reason, including that there are no marked bike lanes on Downer Avenue in Shorewood, given the terrible condition of the road surface on Downer Avenue south of Capitol Drive, and given the higher number of stops signs and intersections that a cyclist would encounter on Downer Avenue, compared to Lake Drive).
GSB Comments on Last Night’s Meeting
“Bike” lanes these days really have to be thought of not as “bike” lanes, but “micromobility” lanes, given the new “non-car” ways that many people are choosing to get around (e.g., bikes, ebikes, scooters, escooters, etc.). Shorewood should want to ensure that those who choose to get around not using a car, have safe places to do so. Shorewood should want families to be able to ride on Lake Drive, or walk across Lake Drive, and feel safe doing so. That will promote more active lifestyles, and less car dependence.
As with many proposals involving adding "bike" lanes and/or pedestrian amenities, some people will oppose them because they are opposed to bikes generally, and believe that roads should be designed primarily to encourage “unrestricted” car-traffic, traveling at the highest unimpeded speed. Some believe it is important that when drivers drive to and reach their destination, public roads should be designed so that there exists at those destinations parking that is ample, close, and free. Some people will oppose bike lanes and pedestrian amenities because they believe free parking is more important than other values, such as bike and pedestrian safety, and the encouragement of active lifestyles, in particular, people driving less and walking and biking more.
GSB does not pretend that the westside parking issue is a simple issue, or doesn't involve the consideration of competing values. People of good will can value the competing costs and benefits in different ways, and (once those are weighed in comparison to each other) come to differing conclusions.
As to the parking issue, GSB recommends Donald Shoup's book The High Cost of Free Parking. (If you don't have time to read the book, check out the YouTube videos on the topic.) Professor's Shoup's book has completely changed the way many think about parking, especially free parking. As he notes, overall, free parking—and outdated zoning laws requiring too many parking spaces per apartment, or per square foot of commercial space—has done a lot to encourage highly-sedentary, car-centric lifestyles in most communities in the United States.
GSB believes that most in our Village want Shorewood to be a welcoming place, for persons of diverse backgrounds, both now and in the future. But it is important that we distinguish between Shorewood being welcoming to people, and Shorewood being welcoming to cars. It's not the equivalent of "love me, love my dog." As we seek to design a better, greener, more-sustainable Shorewood, we need to move away from street designs that are car-centric (which promote car-dependent lifestyles), towards street designs that are less car-centric (which promote active lifestyles). Part of that is having street designs that calm traffic, and that help make pedestrians and bike riders both safer and feeling safer using the street in question for walking and biking. Shorewood was originally designed that way, but over the last 70 years our society in general (and Shorewood in particular) adopted car-dependent lifestyles, and car-centric street designs. Such has had substantial detrimental affects on our environment, and on individual personal health (as car dependent-lifestyles contribute to the rise of such things as obesity, heart disease and diabetes).
Finally, which (in GSB's opinion) is better? Design Option 1 (with a 6-foot wide bike lane with no buffer) or Option 2 (with a 5-foot wide bike lane with a buffer to reduce the risk of "dooring")?
It's a close call, but given GSB's estimation that dooring is a relatively low-occurence, low-risk event (as opposed to coming into contact with a moving vehicle), GSB favors Option 1. With Option 1, bike riders have slightly more room to manuever in the bike lane if a door opens unexpectedly, and bike riders have slightly more room to avoid moving vehicles in the driving lane.
Given State and Federal laws (and given GSB’s experience with the DOT regarding other road projects in the Milwaukee area), GSB believes it would be very, very unlikely that the final approved design will not include bike lanes of some sort. In the unlikely event it did not include bike lanes, GSB expects a lawsuit would challenge the design, as one not in accord with State and Federal laws. So, GSB respectfully suggests to all concerned that the current debate should be the following: “If bike lanes and pedestrian amenities are going to be added to Lake Drive, what is the best design/configuration of such?”
With the upcoming re-construction of Lake Drive, Shorewood has a historic opportunity to move away from an overly car-centric design on a high-profile road in Shorewood, and towards a design that is more balanced and better in multiple ways, in that it increases pedestrian and cyclist safety, promotes more active lifestyles, promotes greener means of getting around, and promotes traffic calming.
GSB Encourages You to Submit Comments to the DOT
Anyone can submit comments to the DOT regarding the Lake Drive project and the new proposed designs. GSB encourages you to do so. Community suggestions can lead to better designs, and a final design that is more likely to be accepted by the greatest number of people. GSB encourages you to take a few minutes and submit your comments.
The mission of GSB is to encourage people to bike more (and drive less), and to that end, we advocate for better, safer infrastructure for bike riders and pedestrians. GSB believes that making Shorewood an even better place than it already is to bike and walk, and less car-centric and car-dependent, makes Shorewood an even better place than it already is to live, play, work and grow a business.
If you are submitting comments to the DOT, GSB asks that you include in your comments the following five ideas:
- That you support the DOT’s proposal to add traffic-calming measures on Lake Drive (including bike lanes and pedestrian amenities).
- That you would like to
see the DOT develop an alternative proposed design (for consideration at the
next Public Involvement Meeting in October), one that would provide for
protected bike lanes on both sides of Lake Drive (or at a minimum on the
eastside of Lake Drive).
- That if a protected bike lane is not possible, then you support Option 1 (the 6-foot-wide bike lane) as opposed to "Option 2" (the 5-foot-wide bike lane).
- That you support the installation of "blinking light" pedestrain crosswalks (similar to what Whitefish Bay has done) at some intersections.
- That you believe the
DOT’s adding traffic-calming measures on Lake Drive (including bike lanes and pedestrian
amenities) is consistent with Shorewood’s values of promoting active lifestyles,
and being a bike and pedestrian friendly community.
You can submit comments to the DOT by emailing those to Christine.hanna@dot.wi.gov (or lakedriveshorewood@gmail.com). You may also want to copy Village Board members on your emailed comments, so they are aware of your views on these issues.
Thank you for your consideration.
If there are any questions, or want to discuss this issue with me (whether you
favor the current designs or oppose them), do not hesitate to reach out to me,
as I’m always happy to have a civil discussion with folks on these issues.
Alexander
“Sandie” Pendleton
President
and Co-Peloton Leader
Greater Shorewood Bikers, Inc.
e: pendleton@pendletonlegal.com
c: 414.418.4469
