Protected Bike Lanes Coming to Lake Drive in Milwaukee

We have some good news for those who would like to see Lake Drive in Milwaukee and Shorewood be better for all users. As indicated in prior blog posts, Lake Drive in Milwaukee will be reconstructed in 2024, and as part of the redesign process, the City of Milwaukee proposed adding protected bike lanes ("PBLs") on both sides of the street. 

As Lake Drive is a state highway connector, the final say on the design is in the hands of Wisconsin Department of Transportation.  As indicated in the below letter, the City and the DOT have announced that the DOT has approved the City’s proposal for PBLs on the entire stretch of Lake Drive in the project area. 

What About Lake Drive in Shorewood?

What significance does this development have for the Lake Drive reconstruction project in Shorewood? Obviously, it would make a great deal of sense for there to be a consistent bike lane configuration in Milwaukee and Shorewood. As mentioned in below posts, the Shorewood reconstruction project is now scheduled to occur in 2025.  The above decision of the DOT and the City is good news for those who know that PBLs make streets safer for all users (pedestrians, bike riders, residents, and car users). Why is that? Primarily because PBLs promote traffic calming, and provide everyone greater levels of certainty regarding where street users are likely to be. 

Of course, no one is talkng about adding PBLs in the Atwater Park Area. Instead, we are talking about the area of Lake Drive south and north of Atwater Park (the area of Lake Drive in Shorewood where cars are more likely to exceed the 30 mph speed limit). And currently we are only talking about having a parking-PBL (or some other type of PBL) on the east side of Lake Drive in Shorewood. If we compare those portions of Lake Drive in Shorewood, to that portion of Lake Drive in Milwaukee from the intersection of Lake/Lincoln-Memorial/Kenwood to the intersection of Lake/Edgewood, it's fair to say those sections are comparable. (Yes, the street standard profile in portions of Shorewood is 44' compared to 46' in Milwaukee, but that is not a meaningful difference; there is plenty of room for PBLs in Shorewood.)

The DOT's approval of PBLs on Lake Drive in Milwaukee (which has even higher levels of traffic then in Shorewood), is an acknowledgment that PBLs are likewise feasible and safe in Shorewood.  

It is unfortunate that the Village of Shorewood Board was pushed by the DOT at the Board's Monday, November 21st meeting to take a position on whether the parking lane on Lake Drive in Shorewood should be located at the curb, or instead whether the bike lane should be placed next to the curb. With the decision in Milwaukee less than two weeks away, there is no reason why the DOT needed to push the Village Board to make a decision on the 21st. Would the Board have come to a different conclusion on the 21st, if the Board had known then that the DOT was going to approve PBLs in Milwaukee?  

But it is certainly not too late for the Village Board to revisit this issue. The Shorewood Lake Drive project is not until 2025.

The Village Board on the 21^st unfortunately did little to advance the concept of a Shorewood active micromobility network (see below blog posts for more on that network). We have a great start on that network (the Oak Leaf Trail on the Village's western border). Now is the time to focus on building out that network on the southern border (the Edgewood/River-Park Corridor), and the eastern border (Lake Drive). 

Stay tuned for future developments.

Alexander "Sandie" Pendleton (414.418.4469; sandiependleton@gmail.com)

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