Streets For The Future
Strong Towns Metro MKE Welcomes City Engineer Kevin Muhs.
Our Local Conversation saw its best attended monthly meeting to date, with 35 members on hand for a question-and-answer session with Milwaukee’s City Engineer.
Kevin Muhs graciously donated a part of his evening for freewheeling discussion and a peek behind the curtain of what it means to achieve balance: budgets, the opinions of many, and the increasing pressure to make our built environment safer and more sustainable for all city residents. His Department of Public Works is the second largest department in the city, responsible for all kinds of infrastructure - streets, bridges, lighting, buildings, among other things.
Kevin spoke on a variety of topics. His department is committed to Vision Zero, the citywide effort to achieve zero traffic deaths by 2037, a subject which will come up again and again at our future local conversations.
Traffic calming initiatives are hot right now.
Slip lanes (what’s a slip lane? That’s the dedicated right turn lane that enables drivers to avoid the core intersection, often without stopping, but giving pedestrians one more point of conflict to deal with). And removing them? Not as inexpensive as we might think.
Slowing left turns (the most dangerous movement someone not in a car will encounter in an intersection when cars are present)
Shrinking excess capacity
What about cycling infrastructure? Always top of mind and plans are forthcoming, but as part of a wider mobility effort.
What are the obstacles (besides the budget)? Staffing. Contractor capacity (or lack thereof). Replacing aging technology and keeping up with the technology replacing it. Balancing the needs of all constituencies.
What cities inspire him? Chicago (and the feeling is mutual), Denver, Twin Cities (“they do expensive stuff there”), Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor….there is plenty of nationwide information and idea exchange in the profession.
Maybe the most important question came last: how can this group help him out? Because that’s why we’re here: We elevate our local government to serve as the highest level of collaboration for people working together in our cities rather than merely the lowest level in a hierarchy of governments. The answer was exactly what you’d suspect: show up. Talk to friends and family, even about the wonky stuff, and get them to understand why a sustainable, safe, and financially resilient community is important.