Safe Streets and Roads for All Action Plan

An official public commitment (e.g., resolution, policy, ordinance, etc.) by a high-ranking official and/or governing body (e.g., Mayor, City Council, Tribal Council, MPO Policy Board, etc.) to an eventual goal of zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries. The commitment must include a goal and timeline for eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries achieved through one, or both, of the following: (1) the target date for achieving zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries, OR (2) an ambitious percentage reduction of roadway fatalities and serious injuries by a specific date with an eventual goal of eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries.

A Vision Zero goal year of 2037 was unanimously approved by Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors on July 31st, 2024!  Also approved were fatal and serious injury crash percent reduction goals of 25% every three years betwen 2025 and 2037.

The Vision Zero Commitment bill was signed into law by Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley on August 29th, 2024.

A committee, task force, implementation group, or similar body charged with oversight of the Action Plan development, implementation, and monitoring.

We have three different bodies:

Action Plan Development project team (MCDOT Director's Office staff and project consultants)

Public Advisory Committee (community stakeholders)

Safety Working Group (municipal, county and state officials)

Analysis of existing conditions and historical trends that provides a baseline level of crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries across a jurisdiction, locality, Tribe, or region. Includes an analysis of locations where there are crashes and the severity of the crashes, as well as contributing factors and crash types by relevant road users (motorists, people walking, transit users, etc.). Analysis of systemic and specific safety needs is also performed, as needed (e.g., high-risk road features, specific safety needs of relevant road users, public health approaches, analysis of the built environment, demographic, and structural issues, etc.). To the extent practical, the analysis should include all roadways within the jurisdiction, without regard for ownership. Based on the analysis performed, a geospatial identification of higher-risk locations is developed (a High-Injury Network or equivalent).

Download and read through our recently-released Milwaukee County Transportation Safety Assessment Report

Download and read through our recently-released Corridor Profiles detailing the transportation landscape and recent crash history of all 25 Corridors of Concern

Robust engagement with the public and relevant stakeholders, including the private sector and community groups, that allows for both community representation and feedback. Information received from engagement and collaboration is analyzed and incorporated into the Action Plan. Overlapping jurisdictions are included in the process. Plans and processes are coordinated and aligned with other governmental plans and planning processes to the extent practical.

A total of 22 public engagement meetings took place during Phase One in Summer 2023 as part of our Safe Streets Roadshow.  A summary of these meetings and feedback can be found in the Milwaukee County Transportation Safety Assessment Report linked above.

A total of five additional Safer Streets Workshops took place in September and October 2024 as part of our Phase Two public engagement campaign.  Check our project website homepage for details under "Community Engagement".  Resident feedback themes from those workshops will be included in the countywide Comprehensive Safety Action Plan.

Plan development using inclusive and representative processes. Underserved communities are identified through data and other analyses in collaboration with appropriate partners.⁸ Analysis includes both population characteristics and initial equity impact assessments of the proposed projects and strategies.

MCDOT's focus on a significant number of corridors within census tracts of underrepresented populations and communities of color ensures the Action Plan will address the safety needs of our county’s more vulnerable residents and roadway users.  Also, the percentage of proposed project locations in socially vulnerable census tracts, combined with our intentional public engagement meeting locations and translated materials, encompass this component of the Action Plan.

Assessment of current policies, plans, guidelines, and/or standards (e.g., manuals) to identify opportunities to improve how processes prioritize transportation safety. The Action Plan discusses implementation through the adoption of revised or new policies, guidelines, and/or standards, as appropriate.

The project team developed a report reviewing how Milwaukee County’s various departments and divisions provide services for transportation and transit, the processes by which they carry out those services and any potential roadblocks they experience.  The full report can be downloaded here.

Recommendations on changes to consider, including best practices from other municipalities, counties, states and nations, are detailed in this report included in the countywide Comprehensive Safety Action Plan.

Identification of a comprehensive set of projects and strategies, shaped by data, the best available evidence and noteworthy practices, as well as stakeholder input and equity considerations, that will address the safety problems described in the Action Plan. These strategies and countermeasures focus on a Safe System Approach, effective interventions, and consider multidisciplinary activities. To the extent practical, data limitations are identified and mitigated.

Once identified, the list of projects and strategies is prioritized in a list that provides time ranges for when the strategies and countermeasures will be deployed (e.g., short-, mid-, and long-term timeframes). The list should include specific projects and strategies, or descriptions of programs of projects and strategies, and explains prioritization criteria used. The list should contain interventions focused on infrastructure, behavioral, and/or operational safety.

Over 150 priority roadway segments and intersections have been identified and costed out to depict how, where and how much it will cost to make those Corridors of Concern safer.  Also included is by how much crashes will be reduced if the improvement listed can be implemented.

Method to measure progress over time after an Action Plan is developed or updated, including outcome data. Means to ensure ongoing transparency is established with residents and other relevant stakeholders. Must include, at a minimum, annual public and accessible reporting on progress toward reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries, and public posting of the Action Plan online.

MCDOT’s Complete Communities Transportation Planning Project website is continually updated with its latest deliverables, public engagement materials, Corridors of Concern Corridor Profiles, the Motor Vehicle Collision Dashboard and the Transportation Safety Assessment Report.  Residents can continue to check back on the website for our latest initiatives to make their street safer.