What is the purpose of a street?
In the second half of the 20th century the design of
city streets reflected the motor vehicle’s dominance
in American society, says John Davis, Ayres Associates
manager of traffic engineering.
North Avenue’s redesign was making the area friendlier
for pedestrians and bicyclists. Ayres traffic engineers
responded by incorporating features like the following into
the street’s redesign:
But that’s changing.
• Red colored crosswalks installed at 64th Street and
North Avenue and 72nd Street and North Avenue.
For added safety, the crosswalks also contain raised
medians – pedestrian “islands” – in the center of the
roadway. Along with helping draw motorists’ attention
to pedestrians, the red crosswalks serve as gateway
treatments, helping to slow traffic by informing
motorists that they’re entering the business district.
“Today, the challenge is to have a design that’s based on
balancing the needs of all street users, not just motorists,
but pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users,” Davis said.
This idea has come to be called the “complete streets”
movement, and it’s changed the way streets are being
designed around the country, including the $1.5 million
North Avenue reconstruction project in Wauwatosa,
Wisconsin.
In addition to designated areas for safe and convenient
bus stops and pick-ups, the redesigned 16-block portion
of North Avenue includes new traffic signals with flashing
yellow arrows and video detection on all approaches.
Signal lights greatly alter the character of the street; the
previous design lacked enforced stoppage, which according
to some business owners encouraged increased auto
speeds.
Particularly important to the many stakeholders in
Frustrated with the local economy’s
resulting drag on home values, a
group of residents had formed the
East Tosa Alliance and secured a
$40,000 Community Development
Block Grant. This led to a coalition of
City staff, public officials, residents,
and area businesses working with
urban planning consultant RDG. The
result was the East Tosa North Avenue
Plan, a comprehensive analysis of the
area and a detailed set of strategies to
revitalize it.
The plan emphasized creating a more
bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly street
– but this was more than a noble
pursuit. Alderman Joel Tilleson of
16│TRENDS
• Solar-powered, rectangular rapid flashing beacons
at the intersection of 73rd Street and North Avenue
provide a safer crossing path for children walking
to Roosevelt Elementary School. The push-button
activated beacons flash yellow, alerting motorists to
crossing pedestrians.
• Along with green “bike boxes” at the intersection
of North Avenue and 68th Street (see page 18), the
16-block area includes dedicated continuous bike lanes
that are highly visible with their green color and large
white bicycle symbols.
Wauwatosa’s 5th District explained
that suburban style developments and
large surface parking lots were not
feasible options.
“We had to figure out creative ways to
make this area accessible to those not
only in the immediate surrounding
neighborhood but also those within
a mile or two that could get here by
means other than a car,” Tilleson said.
In other words, people coming on
foot or bicycle would be crucial to the
street’s commercial viability.
Ayres Associates assisted the City
with traffic engineering services,
evaluating and further developing a
plan that would, in the words of Ayres
senior traffic engineer Ken Voigt,
“transform the atmosphere of the
corridor and make it the kind of place
people would want to come back to.”
Feasibility analyses were conducted
for various potential modifications to
the street, including the bold concept
of incorporating continuous – green
colored – on-street bicycle lanes along
the 16-block area.
A vision with many voices
Porter said the design planning
involved listening to a variety of voices
– the public, area businesses, the East
Tosa Alliance, elected officials, and
City staff.
“There were definitely differences of
opinion,” Porter said. “But thanks to
calm, professional discussion and clear
presentations of options by Ayres, we
were able to make good decisions.”
One of those voices was Ed Haydin’s,
a local resident and, at the time,
an Alliance member. He’s also an
architect with a specialty in urban
design and economic development.
“I’ve sat through numerous
engineering-focused technical
discussions, which can be very
dry and hard to follow, he said.
“But Ayres really took the time to
explain the likely outcome for each
potential street modification. And
they also made some important
recommendations.”
Meanwhile, as support for a street
redesign grew and the vision for it
evolved into feasible plans, the City
opted for a comprehensive street
redesign/resurfacing project for
summer 2014. Because of special
events in the area, construction
couldn’t begin until July. This
created a tight timeline; the City
also wanted major portions of the
project completed before the school
year began in September. Because of
workload challenges, the City looked
to Ayres for additional assistance.
“We had to work as efficiently as
possible to coordinate the new design
elements and the grade fittings with
the street’s resurfacing – and utility
coordination was also a big part of
the project,” said Kristine Anderson
of Ayres, who served as project
supervisor. Ultimately, the tight
timeframe was met. The completed
The past meets the future: An engineer comes home again
When Ken Voigt walks along North Avenue in
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, it’s a literal stroll down memory
lan e. He grew up just two blocks off the avenue.
On Saturday mornings as a kid, Voigt and his father
would walk to the nearby bakery for “hard rolls and
doughnuts,” he recalled. Then there was the five-anddime where he bought his baseball cards and the small
grocery store where his mother worked. As a teenager,
Voigt and his high school sweetheart would eat at Jake’s
Fine Dining Restaurant for special occasions.
These establishments on North Avenue may have long
vanished, but in their place now stands a reinvigorated
business district in “East Tosa,” especially following the
recent reconstruction of the corridor.
Working with the City of Wauwatosa and numerous
other project stakeholders, Voigt led the traffic
engineering design portion of the project for Ayres
Associates.
“Traffic engineering has the power to shape the
character of a neighborhood,” Voigt said. And he ought
to know. As a senior traffic engineer with more than
48 years of experience, he has helped engineer the
character of hundreds of neighborhoods.
But the East Tosa project was uniquely rewarding for
Voigt.
“To go back to where you grew up and help make a
positive impact on the residents and businesses in the
community – it’s been a career highlight,” he said.
Voigt now lives 6 miles from the old neighborhood,
though he’s a frequent visitor. He still attends church in
Wauwatosa, and on occasion he and his wife will stop at
a spot on North Avenue called “Rocket Baby Bakery.” The
hip eatery, with its artisan breads and elegant pastries,
bears little resemblance to Voigt’s boyhood bakery. But
still, the area inevitably conjures memories – for both of
them. That high school sweetheart from so long ago has
been Voigt’s wife for 49 years.
– Jason Sweet
TRENDS
│17