What's Milwaukee's most dangerous street? Here's what a city crash study found

A city report identifying the most dangerous streets in Milwaukee for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers put Capitol Drive at the top of the list.

The Milwaukee Crash Analysis report presented a scoring system, which gave a pedestrian, cyclist and driver safety risk score to major streets throughout the city. A higher score means a more dangerous street.

Here are the top 10 highest scorers:

Scores factor in which areas have the highest crash density, weighted by crash severity. According to the report, areas with higher posted speed limits, high traffic volumes and areas near destinations where people often walk or ride their bikes ― like centers of retail or employment ― have higher concentrations of more severe crashes.

"This pattern is especially true for corridors in Milwaukee’s downtown and inner neighborhoods where shorter blocks, more intersections and a large number of destinations encourage more pedestrian activity," the report says.

One reason for high crash rates at Capitol Drive is that high-volume streets in the city like it tend to include transit stops and other destinations people may want or need to access via walking, "leading to an increase in pedestrian volumes and an increase in opportunity for pedestrian-driver conflicts. These streets also may have longer distances between protected crossing opportunities and greater need for safety countermeasures to help pedestrians reach their destinations safely."

Crashes at Capitol Drive intersections are dangerous and costly

The total societal costs related to the intersection at North 35th Street and West Capitol Drive in recent years, reported by the crash analysis, was $38,326,114, the third most of any intersection in the city. The analysis defined societal costs as "costs resulting from crashes, including tangible (property damage, hospital bills, loss of future income, etc.) and intangible costs (quality-of-life costs)."

Police data reports five people have been killed in crashes along Capitol Drive so far this year as of Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Four Capitol Drive intersections were also among the top 14 worst intersections in Milwaukee for crashes and hit-and-runs between May 2021 and May 2022.

• In that time period, at least 81 crashes occurred where Fond du Lac Avenue, Capitol Drive and 51st Boulevard intersect, making it one of the most dangerous intersections in the city.

• The intersection of 35th Street and Capitol Drive, saw the third most crashes in Milwaukee. Police reported 41 crashes, including 18 hit-and-runs.

• The intersection of 60th Street and Capitol Drive saw 32 car crashes, as did the intersection at Sherman Boulevard and Capitol Drive

What can Milwaukee do to fix the problem?

The crash analysis recommended that multiple sections of Capitol Drive ― including from 85th Street to 6th Street and the intersections at North 35th Street and Sherman Boulevard ― receive near-term street transformation efforts or targeted capital projects. Street transformation along that section of Capitol Drive ties for first priority on the analysis' list of proposed projects.

Street transformations involve multiple improvements, including lane reconfigurations, street narrowing, protected bike lanes, pedestrian crossings, medians, curb extensions and more, along an entire section of a street. Targeted investments seek to improve location-specific safety issues with projects such as curb extensions, pedestrian refuge islands, signal improvements and raised crossings at specific intersections or midblock sections.

Journal Sentinel reporter Drake Bentley contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Most dangerous street for accidents in Milwaukee is Capitol Drive