Brady Street community sounds off on 4 redesign options that could alter the iconic Milwaukee neighborhood
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- One of the most popular streets in Milwaukee is going to look different. The question is just how drastic the changes will be on Brady Street.
The Brady Street Business Improvement District released a study Tuesday that includes four different redesign options. City and neighborhood business leaders said their goal is to make the popular east side drag safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
On Tuesday night, hundreds of community members packed St. Hedwig church to share their thoughts on the plans.
Making Brady Street safer has been a personal crusade for Felix Glorioso ever since his mother Mary was hit and killed back in 2004. At Tuesday's meeting, Glorioso told District 3 Alderman Jonathan Brostoff, "Brady Street's a raceway from Humboldt to Farwell and back."
The redesign options focus on a four-block stretch of Brady between Humboldt Ave. and Cambridge Ave.
Ten-thousand vehicles drive along Brady every day, an estimated 880 of them during the peak evening rush hour.
The push to make Brady Street safer for non-drivers intensified after a Memorial Day weekend hit-and-run crash that critically injured a 41-year-old man who's long been a beloved regular on Brady.
At the meeting, Brostoff told the crowd, "Right now, I think we're kind of at a crossroads. There is a lot of activity, and a lot of stuff to celebrate, and a lot of challenges, as well."
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's interactive mapping system, there have been 12 crashes on Brady Street since 2010 that caused either death or serious injury. The map does not yet register the Memorial Day weekend hit-and-run.
Among those incidents were three fatal collisions in 2022; two involved pedestrians, the other included a cyclist.
Two of the four redesign options would continue to cars on the four-block stretch in question.
Some people supported one option over the others, like one man who drew applause when he said, "The design should be around people, not businesses."
Others supported none of the options, applauding when another man said, "Can you give us a fifth [option]? None of the above."
And still others support a combination, like a man who said, "Whatever the solution is has to support the entire neighborhood. The neighborhood is more than just Brady Street."
Chris Socha, an architect with The Kubala Washatko Architects, lived in the neighborhood for 11 years. At the meeting, he said, "This is one of Milwaukee's most culturally important streets. Period. End of story."
The first, and most modest, option would install speed tables at three intersections along Brady Street.
Rachel Taylor, the executive director of the Brady Street Business Improvement District, indicated that was unlikely to be the final choice because it doesn't go far enough.
"It doesn't reimagine the area as more of a holistic community area," she said. "Which is one of the things we're trying to do with the study, is not only deal with traffic and reckless driving, but also create a sense of community, something very special, which is what Brady Street is."
The second option would elevate the street to curb level between Humboldt and Cambridge. Some parking spaces would be removed, but cars would still be allowed to drive over that stretch of Brady.
Taylor said the goal in that scenario is for drivers to recognize their environment has changed. There would be signs and markers dividing the driving lanes and pedestrian areas.
"There is definitely a change when you're driving, therefore, the way that you drive changes," Taylor said. "You slow down. All of a sudden, the pedestrians are not cut off by curbs and parked cars; they're right there."
The third option only makes changes to a two block-stretch between Franklin Pl. and Warren Ave. It raises the street to curb level on that stretch while also banning cars.
Taylor said that option is also unlikely to be chosen because consultants found that change would detour traffic onto nearby side streets. At a previous public works committee meeting, neighbors said they worried a total pedestrianization would lead to congestion outside their homes.
"That [two-block closure] would actually result in more traffic going to the residential areas around Brady Street, which is something we were trying to prevent," Taylor said.
The fourth option features a raised street over the entire four-block stretch. It also bans cars, allowing only buses and delivery trucks to pass through.
The changes under the third and fourth options would make Brady Street comparable to State Street in Madison or the 16th Street Mall in Denver.
Victor Reid, a salesclerk at Famous SmokeShop, said he didn't mind the addition of speed tables or a partial pedestrianization, where cars are banned on weekends.
However, Reid said a full ban on cars would hurt business since some customers often run in for cigars on their lunch break.
"A lot of our clientele that comes in, they don't want to come in, park two blocks away and then have to walk down here," he said. "That's too much."
Taylor said the business district and the city would take public input into account over the next several weeks.
Taylor added convenience for cars would not drive the thought process.
"They're no longer the focus," she said. "The people are the focus."
Ald. Jonathan Brostoff, whose district includes Brady Street, said he envisions the changes helping to make the street a destination for visitors coming in from outside Milwaukee.
"The goal will be for Brady Street to be a gem of the whole state," Brostoff said. "Where people will travel to, experience, and be one of the best neighborhoods in the region."
Anyone who wants to submit a comment on the proposed changes can do so here.
When any of the plans come to fruition -if they're approved- depends on securing funding. A representative from the Department of Public Works said the design phase alone could take a year or two. Then construction would begin, and the timetable for that would depend on which plan is selected.