Various Shootings Lead Locals to Question Safety of Water St.

Milwaukee’s Water Street entertainment district has lately been described as chaotic and concerning. There have been four shootings within the past couple of weeks, with one of them being fatal. The popular bar district has been the location numerous incidents of violence including reckless driving, fights, and shootings. Witnesses have also seen multiple brawls, beatings, use of illegal drugs and consumption of alcohol in the street, often by minors, visible handguns and windows being shot out of buildings. Numerous business owners have been expressing concern for the safety and lives of everyone on Water Street. Owners have had multiple employees quit for fear of their safety, and customers have been harassed. They are now concerned about losing business due to the activities occurring on Water Street. Should the city of Milwaukee do more to stop the violence at Water Street? And if so what?

We as the editorial board have decided that the city of Milwaukee needs to do more to get control of the disorder and violence on Water Street. Multiple members of the board have friends that will no longer go to Water Street for fear of their safety. One member even knows someone who witnessed the fatal shooting that occurred on June 12. All members of the board agree that this is not how Water Street should continue.

While police have been spotted on horseback and motorcycles, we as the board want more police presence on Water Street. More police officers should be walking on foot through all areas of Water as opposed to standing on the median at Water and Juneau. Increasing police presence and walking through all areas of Water can provide some sense of security to customers.

A lot of problems have been occurring outside of the bars and on the streets. However, we have decided that metal detectors at the bars could reduce the number of handguns present on Water Street and that it could lead to more customer safety as well.

On WISN, Alderman Bob Bauman states his idea of limiting vehicle access in and around Water Street for up to half a mile and close public parking lots. As a few of our editorial board members have noticed, this had started taking place as of last Saturday. We agree that this is a smart idea and would like this to continue, especially on Fridays and Saturdays when a lot of these incidents seem to escalate. We also propose that crowds should be out of Water Street after 3:00am, after bars are closed and giving customers time to make arrangements to get home safely. This would reduce the amount of people out on Water Street after businesses are closed.

Since Water Street would be closed to traffic on Fridays and Saturdays, we propose that the Food Trucks should be moved onto Water Street so that they are spread out along the block instead of clustered in one area far from the police. This would ensure customer safety as well as creating a fun, positive atmosphere.

Lastly, we as the board believe the police should be enforcing city ordinances. Such ordinances include open drug use (although it’s less of a reason for the problems), public drinking, and loitering (after 3:00am).

Overall, we as the board see the current state of Water Street concerning. We would like to see the city of Milwaukee do more to stop the violence that has been occurring. We think these proposals could help aide Water Street into becoming safe again for residents, businesses, and customers in the area. We are hopeful that Water Street will once again be a safe and fun experience for all.