Letter to Supervisor Wasserman
Supervisor Wasserman,
I couldn’t make the Mason St PIM last week but I heard that there were some concerns about putting in protection for the bike lanes on the bridge.
Protected bike lanes (in some form) on the Mason bridge should be a no-brainer. The space is there and the bike lanes are already in place. Adding protective barriers to the existing lanes will harden one of only a few ways to cross over LMD on a bike and provide a safe connection from Veterans Park to downtown. It also won’t inconvenience anyone who’s following the law today.
Unfortunately, many drivers in Milwaukee don’t follow the law and the setup today leaves plenty of room for dangerous and illegal driving that risks injuring bikers, pedestrians, and drivers alike. I myself regularly see drivers speeding down the current bike lanes to skip the line of traffic at the light. Not only does this make turning left from EB Mason difficult, it also endangers bikers in the bike lane, bikers coming on or off the trail there, and pedestrians crossing the street.
We have a reckless driving crisis in this county, and even if you see no value in the bike lanes themselves (I do, and know people who rely on them) barriers will be a key safety improvement that we sorely need. I hope we have your support for a safer Milwaukee.