Courtesy of the City of Milwaukee
Milwaukee Vision Zero logo
In Milwaukee, the sound of a traffic crash is sadly familiar. The sudden squeal of tires at an intersection. The hollow crash of metal striking metal. A thud. A moan. Moments later, the rising chorus of sirens. Another accident. Another injury or even death.
Too often the cause is painfully familiar. A driver speeding through a red light, cutting around traffic on the right, or treating a city street like an open highway. Pedestrians and bicyclists are often the most exposed. Many Milwaukee residents can name a neighbor, a friend, or a family member who has been injured or killed in similar scenes. And with each incident comes the same uneasy question: why does it keep happening?
In 2022, Milwaukee’s leaders decided to confront that question directly. Mayor Cavalier Johnson, along with city departments and a coalition of nonprofit organizations, launched an initiative called Vision Zero. It has an ambitious and yet simple aim: to eliminate traffic deaths in the city by 2037. Approximately 10% of arterial streets have 53% of the traffic deaths and serious injuries.
Recently, I attended an event at South Division High School on Lapham Boulevard where the mayor and city officials presented their latest report on the Vision Zero program. Why South Division? Because Lapham was once identified as a red flag zone for speeding. But that was the past. Traffic calming installations, lane reduction and protective bike lanes have reduced speeds from 30 mph to 25 mph. The result? A 70% decrease in drivers traveling above the speed limit and more students riding bikes to school.
But Lapham Boulevard is only one small part of Vision Zero. Traffic calming is happening all over city streets. “Vision Zero is an international movement,” said Jessica Wineberg, Milwaukee Vision Zero policy director. “It started in Sweden about 30 years ago and has spread across the world. The U.S. joined the movement about 15 or 20 years ago. We started Vision Zero in Milwaukee in 2022. Vision Zero was Mayor Johnson’s first action in office.” Wineberg coordinates strategy and data. Her office came up with an action plan, and it was adopted in 2025.
|
|
Mayor Johnson added, “Traffic deaths are down 19% compared to 2024 and down more than 26% from the peak year in 2022. Three years of reduction in traffic deaths. Twenty lives saved. We have built safe street projects to prevent crashes before they happen. Vision Zero is built on the Safe Systems approach and includes public education, layered engineering, enforcement, and emergency response. The Department of Public Works prioritizes safety over speed by implementing street design. The goal is zero traffic deaths by 2037.”
Wineberg said, “In 2025, our team connected with thousands of people across Milwaukee. We focused on locations and neighborhoods most impacted by traffic violence, the high injury network. We attended 123 events in all.”
The work of Vision Zero has been to redesign the streets to slow speeds and invest in the high injury network where crashes happen most.
When I asked about camera installations to catch speeders at busy intersections, Wineberg later wrote me, ‘Traffic safety cameras are currently illegal under Wisconsin state stature even though they save lives. The city is lobbying for a five -ear Milwaukee Pilot program for cameras to monitor cars running red lights and speeding.’
High Injury Locations
Kevin Muhs is the city engineer for the City of Milwaukee. His job is to direct and participate in the design and review of infrastructure projects, including utilities and transportation.
“Our goal is designing streets that make safe choices the easy choices,” Muhs said. “In the city, 53% of traffic deaths in 2025 occurred on the high injury network, which is a small percentage of streets where most people are killed or seriously injured in crashes. Speed is the key factor in the majority of crashes. Last year, more than half of traffic deaths were speeding related. We design streets to discourage speeding. In fact, where we have installed traffic calming installations, crashes and speeding have been reduced.”
Then, there is Jake Newborn, assistant director of the Wisconsin Bike Federation where he has worked for 20 years. He knows the risk of riding a bike on city streets. “I’ve been pleased with the traffic safety efforts,” Newborn said. “I’ve seen changes in the streets and the attitude toward safe streets from city hall and the mayor. I hope we keep working together to achieve zero deaths on Milwaukee roads. I believe Vision Zero is starting to work.”
But what are the high injury network locations? Here are some of the most important:
- W. Lapham Blvd: Recently added lanes using white and green flex-posts, which are scheduled to be replaced with permanent concrete barriers in late 2026.
- W. Oklahoma Ave and S. Sixth St: Active projects to install protected lanes to improve corridor safety.
- N. Hopkins St: Ongoing project for new protected bicycling infrastructure.
- Lane Reductions (“Road Diets”): Reducing the number of travel lanes to naturally slow traffic and repurpose space for other modes.
- W. Walnut St: A replacement project is reducing driving lanes from four to two while adding sidewalk-level bike lanes and raised crosswalks.
And physical traffic calming:
- Curb Extensions (Bump-outs): Widening sidewalks at intersections to shorten crossing distances for pedestrians and force drivers to take turns more slowly.
- Raised Crosswalks & Intersections: Elevating the pavement at crossings to act as a speed table, significantly increasing driver yielding rates.
- Concrete Islands: Installing physical medians or islands to prevent the “Milwaukee Slide” (drivers passing dangerously in the parking or bike lane).
There are also signal & speed adjustments:
- Speed Limit Reductions: Implementing city-wide lower speed limits to reduce the severity of potential impacts.
- Signal Timing: Reconfiguring traffic lights to prioritize safe pedestrian movement and reduce overall vehicle speeds.
Finally, there is the perspective of Milwaukee Fire Department Chief Aaron Lipski. His department is often the first responder to accidents. “To continue responding to excessive-speed crashes and the horrible deaths that result is defeating,” Lipski said. “It is demoralizing to continue responding to fatal crashes. As we begin turning the corner and reducing road speeds and increasing calming traffic, we are actually transporting live patients, many times still with far too serious injuries. Each live patient we transport has a chance to survive. That is worth its weight in gold for the morale and outlook of the firefighters and paramedics who have to respond and deal with the results of reckless driving.”
I circle back to Sweden where Vision Zero first began. The concept was developed by the Swedish National Road Administration. In October 1997, the Swedish Parliament formally adopted “Nollvisionen” (Vision Zero) as the basis for the country's road safety work. The original Swedish bill established that human life and health take priority over mobility. It introduced shared responsibility between road users and system engineers, planners and policymakers. Since then, Sweden has become one of the world's safest countries for road travel, with a very low fatality rate.
In Milwaukee, Vision Zero is beginning to work, but it is a goal that needs everyone on board. And that includes more than just policy change. It needs the diligence of drivers, bike riders and pedestrians.
