City Seeks Feedback on Bike, Pedestrian Plan

After a year and a half of development and input from citizens, Wauwatosa is ready to unveil the first draft of a comprehensive Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Plan, and wants both feedback and more input on from residents.

An open house meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14 at Fire Station No. 1, 1601 Underwood Ave. in the Village.

There will be a presentation on the plan at 6:45 p.m., followed by an open session in which participants can review the plan, ask questions and make comments.

In late 2012, the city hired Toole Design Group and the Wisconsin Bike Federation to begin work on a plan to unify Wauwatosa's approach to biking and walking. The plan assesses existing conditions and make recommendations to improve bicycling and walking conditions in Wauwatosa.

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In the meantime, the city has made or approved a number of improvements already that can serve as examples.

In Tosa Village, pedestrian crossings of State Street at Harwood Avenue have been enhanced with mid-street pedestrian islands, bolder striped crosswalks and pedestrian crossing signs.

Wauwatosa Avenue from North Avenue to Center Street was realigned and restriped with bicycle lanes and improved school crossings with more signage and more visible crosswalks.

Improvements have also been made around McKinley and Madison elementary schools, and a plan for improvements on Center Street fronting Whitman Middle School, Wauwatosa West High School and Eisenhower Elementary School is nearing completion.

Realignment and restriping of North Avenue in East Tosa, with bike lanes and improved pedestrian crossings has been approved as well.

The idea of the draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Plan, though, is to take a holistic approach rather than a piecemeal one, looking at routes and destinations throughout Wauwatosa as well as its connections with all the communities surrounding it.

An interactive map is available online to input your comments about walking and bicycling in Wauwatosa. Through the map, you can let planners know where you walk and ride, as well as the barriers and issues you encounter. The map also allows you to add comments to other users about routes and destinations.