State Rep. Supreme Moore Omokunde and State Senator LaTonya Johnson discuss a new traffic calming bill during a press conference in Milwaukee.
The city of Milwaukee is continuing to buckle down on road safety efforts with 60 new traffic calming projects slated for 2026.
The projects are part of Milwaukee's ongoing Vision Zero initiative, which aims to reduce the city's annual number of traffic deaths to zero by 2037. Vision Zero is an international street safety initiative that was first launched in Sweden in the 1990s and introduced to Milwaukee, among other American cities, in 2022.
The newest round of traffic calming projects are on top of 60 projects Milwaukee was already working toward in 2025. The city completed about 36 of these projects last year and will continue working on the remaining ones, Department of Public Works spokesperson Tiffany Shepherd told the Journal Sentinel.
Supported by a mix of city, state and federal funding, the projects have spanned citywide and included measures like protected bike lanes, raised crosswalks and all-red flashing traffic signals.
So far, the efforts seem to be showing returns: Traffic fatalities in Milwaukee hit a six-year low in 2025, city officials announced in March. The city logged 57 traffic fatalities in 2025, compared 70 deaths in 2024. Traffic fatalities were also down 26% last year compared to the peak year of 2022, which saw 77 deaths in Milwaukee.
Where are the 2026 traffic calming projects in Milwaukee?
Among the most major of the projects is a three-year effort to rebuild a 2.6-mile stretch of West National Avenue between South 39th Street and South 1st Street. The project will include replacing deteriorated pavement, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, as well as upgrading drainage structures, street lighting and traffic signals.
Construction on National Avenue began Monday, April 6. You can find more information about the project here.
Another major project is the ongoing reconstruction of a 2.1-mile stretch of West Lisbon Avenue from North 100thStreet to West Burleigh Street, which was also among the 60 projects announced in 2025. The city plans to reduce driving lanes from four to two, add protected bike lanes, and replace and add sidewalks, among other efforts. You can find project updates on the city's website.
Other notable projects include plans to install pinned-on concrete bump-outs, speed tables and/or raised crosswalks on Bay View's South Kinnickinnic Avenue and additional traffic calming measures on East Brady Street on the lower east side.
Downtown, the city also plans to install measures like concrete-protected bike lanes and pinned-on concrete bump-outs along East Kilbourn Avenue, North Jackson Street and North Jefferson Street.
How to track Milwaukee's traffic calming projects
You can keep tabs on the progress of Milwaukee's traffic calming projects with this dashboard maintained by the Department of Public Works. The dashboard includes information for nearly 400 projects the department is currently pursuing.
For completed projects, the city is collecting data on whether speeding and traffic crashes have reduced in the area since the construction was completed. Overall, traffic calming measures since 2022 have reduced speeding by 32% and crashes by 15% citywide, per the dashboard. You can follow the progress here.