Solid Plans for 15th Avenue Improvements

Some long overdue road work is coming to 15th Avenue … thanks to federal stimulus dollars.

The project includes full replacement of the travel lanes from College to Rawson avenues, and that’s great. It needs it. It also includes localized replacement of curb, gutter and parking lane concrete.

But the best part of this project is the safety improvements that are planned around South Milwaukee Middle and High School.

At this point, two narrow median strips are planned for intersections at Beech and Cherry streets near the two schools, and a third is being considered at Maple Street near Rawson Elementary.

The medians would allow for more prominent and permanent street safety signage and possible school zone flashing lights. They also would emphasize school zone and pedestrian crossings, slowing traffic. 

I am asking that they also include some sort of decorative landscaping to make the new street a first-class corridor for our city.

The pavement would also be widened on the east side of 15th from Cherry to Beech to accomodate the medians and allow for a designated turn lane to the middle school drop-off area.

Work is scheduled for next summer, and actual construction costs will be entirely funded with stimulus money. (The city is picking up an estimated $125,000 in design and engineering costs.)

The city and Collins Engineering held a public information meeting on the project last week. Only several neighbors attended, despite persistent concerns about traffic around the schools during drop-off and pick-up.

I’ll keep you updated on the status of the project and what the final plans call for. In the meantime, feel free to add a comment here to let me know your suggestions for the project and 15th Avenue traffic concerns.

And a big thanks to the city engineer’s office and Collins Engineering for their work on this so far, including meetings with school officials and neighbors to give them a chance to provide their input on the project.