Creating a Safer Milwaukee – Water Street

As seasons have changed and COVID restrictions have been lifted with new vaccines out, downtown Milwaukee has been filled on the weekends. It makes sense, the pandemic held us inside for the past year, and people are eager to get out and enjoy the weekends again. Water Street has been the destination for just that. While everything is seeming to become normal again, there’s one thing that needs more attention to ensure the longevity of fun on Water Street – that is the violence. Does the city need to do more to stop and prevent violence from occurring on Water Street?  

Yes. The city needs to do more to get control of the disorder and violence taking place on Water Street.  

Over the course of the past few weekends this month, there have been several shootings. Most recently on Water, a 27-year-old Milwaukee woman shot herself accidentally during a street fight on Water and Juneau Avenue and suffered non-fatal injuries. She was arrested after. On June 12, a fatal shooting took place in that same area, where a 31-year-old man was shot and killed. The next day, June 13, two Racine men were shot near North Water and West Clybourn at 2 a.m., both were transported to the hospital with their non-fatal injuries. These recent events concern local bar owners and prevent many from enjoying their weekends at their favorite spots. This is taking away from what we’ve been waiting to enjoy again for so long. Action needs to be taken so we can continue to enjoy our weekends safely downtown.  

Some may feel that the safety downtown is fine and doesn’t need to be modified. Not until you, a friend, or a loved one experience it, may your views change. Water Street is a popular place in Milwaukee. Currently, with the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs, we are witnessing families, kids, older people, and all ages enjoying time along Water Street. Although many incidents are occurring after hours, why wouldn’t we want to enhance the safety of all people enjoying their time, especially at no cost? 

To enhance the safety on Water Street, we have concluded that we need more police officers moving around on foot on all areas of Water Street. We recognize that officers have done a steady job in the median of Water and Juneau where there’s a lot of activity, but this needs to expand. Having officers actively walking throughout parts of Water can prevent altercations from escalating and altercations from occurring at all. Ultimately, this can lead to less violence – which is the goal. City ordinances need better enforcement, which means public drinking, open drug usage, and loitering need to be handled appropriately. Though most problems have taken place outside of bars, metal detectors at bar entrances are necessary. This simply allows for the bars and restaurants to be free of any kind of weapons. To increase safety, closing Water St on Fridays and Saturdays to traffic is logical as well. Closing the roads to traffic at a rational time would allow for fewer crowds and safer moving. With roads being closed on Fridays and Saturdays, we concluded to help better eliminate loitering after bar-close, Food Trucks should be moved and spread out along Water Street. This is not only a good way to move people around from the same area after bar close, but also helps support local Food Trucks and allows for police to ensure safety from a reasonable distance. 

Keeping our people safe while they enjoy downtown should be a priority of our city. Water Street is amongst one of the more popular areas to visit whilst in Milwaukee, but the questionable status of safety continues to make people hesitant. With the help of our suggestions, Water Street can return to the fun, exciting, and safe place we remember it to be. The main goal is to have fun with our families and friends and feel safe while doing so. With the help of the city, these goals can be accomplished. It is up to the city to do more to gain control of the disorder and violence taking place on Water Street.