Milwaukee citizens hold signs at the intersection of West Capitol Drive and North 35th Street after it was labeled the most dangerous intersection in Wisconsin last year.
Carjackings and reckless driving. Walk into any town hall or community meeting in Milwaukee these days and you are likely to hear these concerns from citizens. Because of these concerns, a task force was approved Friday to address these specific issues across the city and county.
The Public Safety and Health Committee approved the City-County Carjacking and Reckless Driving Task Force. Next, the Common Council and Mayor will need to approve the task force before appointments can be made. Even after the Milwaukee Police Department announced Thursday that carjackings were down 7% from 2017, Alderman Michael Murphy said the need for a task force is great.
“It’s great to see a slight reduction, but we want to see a much more significant reduction. It’s all about improving public safety for the citizens of this community,” said Ald. Murphy, who spoke in favor of the task force Friday. “The reality is, this is a crisis and we need to do something now.”
The task force would meet monthly if approved according to Ald. Murphy. Final recommendations could be made in as little as six to 10 months and could include changes to public policy or law enforcement. The task force would work with the District Attorney’s Office, MPD and Milwaukee County Sherriff’s Office. Members of the Safety and Civic Commission would be added to the task force, as well as possibly members of the Milwaukee Youth Council.
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Pedestrian Safety?
There were 56 car accidents that caused fatalities in Milwaukee County in 2018, which is down from 64 in 2017. However, earlier in 2018, the intersection at West Capitol Drive and North 35th Street was labeled the most dangerous intersection in Wisconsin by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There were also seven fatalities along Capitol Drive in 2018 alone, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Pedestrian deaths are a concern in Milwaukee as well, as it was announced that although Milwaukee contains just 10% of the state population, it has 44% of Wisconsin’s pedestrian fatalities. Assistant MPD Chief Michael Brunson said the department has focused on a “three prong approach” over the past year to address this concern—enforcement, education and engineering. He also said that the department is planning a youth summit in 2019 that addresses these specific issues.
However, many of the committee members agreed that this is not an issue that law enforcement will be able to solve alone. Alderwoman Chantia Lewis also said this is an issue in her district. She said she would like to see the task force include young people who might have had a past in carjacking or reckless driving “to provide a level of insight, as to why it's fun or why it's attractive to them.”
Ald. Murphy agreed, adding that a goal of the task force would be to change behavior across the community.
Complete Streets
A Complete Streets Policy was passed by the Milwaukee Common Council last October. The Department of Public Works helped draft the policy, which pushes for pedestrian safety, safer sidewalks, bike lanes and streets for everyone in the city. Caressa Givens, a projects coordinator with the Wisconsin Bike Federation, has been a strong advocate for the Complete Streets Policy. She said this task force would be positive for the community.
“Reckless driving in Milwaukee is a result of varying intentions including criminal activity,” said Givens. “If positive change comes from this committee it will result in creative solutions that avoid unfair or biased policing. Addressing these issues before they fall into the hands of public safety will be key, especially having young people at the table.”
