Milwaukee awarded $4 million grant to improve traffic safety

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A $4 million federal grant to improve traffic safety has been awarded for the city of Milwaukee. 

The city's Department of Public Works (DPW) said in a news release, the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program funds initiatives to prevent traffic deaths and serious injuries. 

DPW says there is also a $1 million local match requirement for this grant that the city will contribute.

“Roadway safety is a top priority, and I am grateful to President Joe Biden’s administration for this multi-million dollar grant to assist our efforts,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said. “We are making significant changes to our streets so that pedestrians, bicyclists, and automobile occupants are safer. This federal Safe Streets grant will advance our work.”

The DPW says the grant will be used by the city for a project named "Safe, Welcoming, and Enjoyable Streets to Grow Milwaukee." 

Milwaukee will incorporate the funding and develop a plan. The city will conduct demonstration activities including street design corrections, neighborhood-driven traffic calming, innovative bike infrastructure, and transit improvements using temporary materials such as jersey barriers, modular bus boarding islands, rubber speed humps, and planters.

“The City of Milwaukee is the state’s largest city, and cultural and economic hub,” said Department of Public Works Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke. “This grant will help the City further it’s mission to make it safe and convenient for people to walk, bike, take transit, be active and enjoy our streets and public spaces.”

Milwaukee is one of eight Wisconsin communities to receive SS4A program funds.