On Tuesday night, the city’s Public Works & Public Property Committee approved six-month, interim safety improvements at one of South Milwaukee’s most challenging intersections—12th Ave and Milwaukee Ave.
The approved changes include removing the first on-street parking space closest to the intersection to improve sightlines, adding a high-visibility stop sign on the northwest corner, and potentially upgrading the stop sign on the southeast corner.
The city engineer designed the plan to expand the vision triangles to Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) standards, exceeding what current South Milwaukee code requires. Both the Police Chief and officers shared that, based on experience, high traffic volumes and poor visibility are major contributors to collisions here.
We’re encouraged to see the city take practical, low-cost action instead of waiting years for a full reconstruction or a $20,000 traffic study. This is exactly the kind of “try something, measure it, improve it” approach we support.
So what does success look like for this intervention?
So far, the conversation has focused almost entirely on drivers. From a Strong Towns perspective, success should also be measured by how this intersection works for everyone.
That means looking for fewer crashes and near-misses, lower vehicle speeds approaching the intersection, and better visibility for all users. It also means more comfortable crossing for pedestrians, greater predictability for people biking, and, just as importantly, fewer residents saying that “this intersection feels bad.”
In other words, not just does traffic move — but does this place feel safer to be in?
We applaud the city for taking this first step. Now let’s use this pilot to collect data, listen to residents, and keep moving toward a safer South Milwaukee.
South Milwaukee Blog 