Michigan Street in downtown Milwaukee begins renovation process

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - Michigan St. in downtown Milwaukee is currently packed with orange construction barrels as the city begins its newest safety construction project.

The street is currently four lanes with two lanes each way, the city is transforming it into a three-lane cross section. 

“This street is actually quite under capacity for a four-lane road,” City Engineer Kevin Muhs said. “There are many streets that are only one lane in each direction without a left turn lane in the city that have twice as many cars on them as Michigan St.”

The construction project will also add high visibility crosswalks, protected bike lanes, medians, and concrete bump outs. 

“Using those islands to get people to move back and forth, it helps drivers pay more attention to what they are doing, pay more attention to your surroundings and encourages people to take it slower,” Muhs said.

The Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) has been working for over a year on reducing speeding across the city. 

In 2024, the city raised several crosswalks near schools, including Hayes Bilingual School on Windlake Ave.

“We saw speeding decline dramatically, a 93% decrease in speeding in that area,” Muhs said. “With infrastructure it’s never going to get to 100% perfect solution but we’ve seen from our data that the likelihood of someone speeding has gone down dramatically.”

Evan Pack owns the Vulture Space Bike Shop on Plankinton Ave. off Michigan St.

“I think the number one reason people don’t ride their bicycles is safety and that perception of feeling safe,” Pack said. 

Pack is thrilled for the potential changes and hopes more people will feel safe while riding bikes. 

“The more infrastructure that’s in place the better,” Pack said. “More people are going to bicycle, overall, it’s safer for everyone.”