Cars might get kicked off Brady Street, but it's unknown if change would be permanent

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The idea of converting one of Milwaukee's most popular streets into a pedestrian mall dominated the conversation at Wednesday's Public Works Committee meeting.

More than 20 people waited to address alders as the city contemplates what to do with Brady Street, in particular a high-traffic stretch between Humboldt Avenue and Prospect Avenue. 

Most of the speakers supported the removal of cars from that part of Brady, but not everyone was on board with the idea, It was also clear the city still had to work out the logistics of what such a pedestrianization would look like. 

However, the urgency to make some kind of change was evident on Brady Street itself Wednesday. A marquee outside the 'Hosed on Brady' tavern read 'Prayers for Quincey,' referring to a hit-and-run crash nine days ago that critically injured a 41-year-old man who's long been a beloved regular on Brady.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's interactive mapping system, there had been 12 crashes on Brady Street since 2010 that caused either death or serious injury. The map does not yet register the Memorial Day weekend hit-and-run.

Among those incidents were three fatal collisions in 2022; two involved pedestrians, the other included a cyclist.

David Robertson, who described himself as a neighborhood watch activist in the Lower East Side neighborhood, said he supported closing the street off to traffic between Humboldt and Prospect on weekends.

"Any other cars, trucks, motorcycles...uh-uh," Robertson said. "Because these [speeding] motorcycles are one of the biggest problems."

Mark Behar, who lives near Brady Street, also voiced support for a temporary pedestrianization.

"For the moment, I think the best approach is to, in fact, close part of Brady Street during those late-time hours when the street is most occupied," he said.

Department of Public Works officials loosely defined temporary closure times as Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Public Works Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke and City Engineer Kevin Muhs said the city still had to figure out lots of details, including how the 24-hour Green Line bus would keep running, as well as what the new barriers would look like and how they'd be deployed.

Ald. Jonathan Brostoff said he envisioned a conversion to something similar to State Street in Madison, where buses still run, but cars are banned.

"Because of all the quirks and all the wonderful coffee shops and everything else, we could blow State Street away," Brostoff said. "I love State Street, but I think we can do way better."

Not everyone was willing to support such a dramatic change. Katy McHugh, who owns the 'Sip & Purr Cat Cafe', on Ivanhoe Place said her revenues have dropped by 51% since that street became a pedestrian mall last month.

She said she was considering moving her business to Brady Street and worried a similar change would steer away customers while failing to address the problem.

"Closing off the street is not gonna stop the reckless driving here," McHuge said. "It's not gonna stop people walking out in the middle of the street on their phone."

Marcella Baruzzini said she worried a closure who detour reckless drivers onto side streets, including hers. 

"What you're doing now is you're taking all that traffic from there, and you're throwing it in the neighboring streets, that are narrow," Baruzzini said. "And there isn't a lot of space already."

The difference of opinion highlighted how bold the city should be in transforming Brady Street.

Those who support a permanent change said it could make the Lower East Side much more welcoming to young families, while others maintained the unintended consequences could cancel out any added safety.

"If our highest priority is parking and traffic throughput, I'm concerned for the future of our city," Montavius Jones, who chairs the city's Pedestrian Bicycle Advisory Committee, said.

Brostoff said the next step in the process will be determining whether to pursue temporary or permanent pedestrianization. He maintained any solution that still allowed cars on Brady Street 24/7 would be insufficient.

"If we're gonna have safer streets," he said. "If we're gonna combat reckless driving, if we're gonna have more economic vitality, we've gotta make some changes."