If you’ve ever felt like traffic on Lake Drive moves too fast (and I’m sure there are those of you who think it moves too slow!) through Whitefish Bay, village leadership would seem to agree with you, and Monday’s Public Works Committee meeting includes recommendations on current proposals to calm traffic.
The committee meets at 5:30 p.m. on Monday to review conceptual designs and cost estimates for traffic calming “gateway” treatments at five Lake Drive intersections, developed by engineering firm raSmith. The concepts are part of a broader push to secure federal grant funding and improve pedestrian and cyclist safety along the village’s busiest and highest-speed corridor.
The Five Locations
The proposed gateway treatments target the following intersections along Lake Drive:
- Lake Drive & Glendale Avenue
- Lake Drive & Hampton Road
- Lake Drive & Circle Drive
- Lake Drive & Monrovia Avenue
- Lake Drive & School Road
Each location would receive some combination of raised crosswalks, raised and traversable medians with landscaping, curb and gutter improvements, improved pedestrian ramps, and bike lane delineation. The Glendale and School Road locations are proposed to include decorative gateway signs, marking the village’s entries.
The Price Tag
Milwaukee County has applied for federal grant money, a portion of which would be dedicated to Whitefish Bay’s project. The county expects to hear back on the application’s status by fall 2026, with projects anticipated for construction between 2028 and 2030. The total estimated project cost across all five locations is $3 million in 2030 dollars (the anticipated construction window). If the federal grant is awarded, $2.3 million would be eligible for participation in federal grant reimbursement, with the additional $764,000 completely locally funded, including utility relocation, water main replacement, and light pole relocations that don’t qualify under the grant program.
Try It Before You Build It
One notable element of the village’s approach: staff is recommending that the conceptual designs also be used to set up temporary traffic calming features using delineators at the proposed locations before any permanent construction begins. The idea is to give residents and the village a trial period to observe real-world effects, gather feedback, and refine the final designs before committing to the full build. You have probably noticed the same approach in the village around town – at the high school on Marlborough and Colfax, on the 100 block of Lake View leading into Bayshore, and on Santa Monica outside St. Monica School.
Also on the Agenda: New School Zone Signs on Lake Drive
A second item on the agenda addresses the overhead school zone signs on Lake Drive near Richards Elementary School. The existing signs have been non-functional for years, with broken lights, outdated technology, and electrical connections that are no longer working.
Staff is recommending replacing them with new solar-powered, LED programmable signs that will flash during school drop-off and pickup times. The new signs are 10 feet wide and 4 feet tall and will use solar panels rather than the existing electrical setup. DPW staff would handle the installation themselves to save on contractor costs. The total cost for the updated signs is estimated at $19,000.
As has been the case in Whitefish Bay and all across Milwaukee, the village is looking to use infrastructure design to nudge drivers into treating major thoroughfares more like the neighborhood street it runs through.
What do you think, Bay Neighbor?