A long stretch of Milwaukee’s North Lake Drive will be getting protected bike lanes − over the objections of some of the street’s homeowners.

The bike lanes, to be separated from car lanes with 2-inch high, 8-inch wide curbs, will be as part of the reconstruction of Lake Drive between East Edgewood Avenue and East Newberry Boulevard.

That $9.8 million project, with $9 million provided by federal and state funds, is to begin in late summer.

Protected bike lanes help prevent car-bicycle crashes, according to cycling advocates. They also slow down car speeds, which improves safety for motorists and pedestrians.

The protected bike lanes are opposed by some Lake Drive residents. They’re afraid they’ll make it more difficult to turn out of their driveways; affect the city’s ability to plow snow and respond with emergency vehicles, and mar the their historic district’s appearance.

Opponents also are unhappy about the elimination of a parking lane on Lake Drive’s west side.

More: Milwaukee’s National Avenue will see its auto lanes cut. Other safety changes are coming

Those arguments were aired during a Thursday meeting of the Common Council’s Public Works Committee. The committee voted 4-1, with Ald. Milele Coggs opposed, to recommended an assessment to pay for the project’s sidewalk improvements. The full council is to consider the assessment at its June 11 meeting.

The reconstruction project has been in the planning stages since 2020, and has already received funding approval from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. WisDOT oversees the project because Lake Drive is a state highway.

The Milwaukee Department of Public Works and WisDOT held two meetings, in 2020 and 2022, to obtain public input. At that latter meeting, a concern was raised about why the plans didn’t include protected bike lanes, said David Tapia, DPW’s major projects manager.

That led to revised plans to include the lanes, Tapia told committee members. Letters were sent to around 150 homeowners about that revised design, resulting in just two responses, he said.

With construction to begin this summer, Tapia said any major change to the project would likely result in WisDOT postponing that work.

Lake Drive’s reconstruction would go to the back of the line for state highway projects − delaying it for around 10 years, he said.

Street homeowners told committee members they want the road reconstructed.

But they said they didn’t know until recently about the revised plans to include protected bike lanes, which involves eliminating the west side parking lane.

And they loudly voiced their unhappiness throughout the committee meeting − prompting a warning from Ald. Robert Bauman, committee chair, that he would clear the room if the proceedings were disrupted.

The opponents include Jennifer Abele, a former city lobbyist and wife of former Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. She said city officials weren’t transparent about the design changes that included the protected bike lanes.

“It’s a complex change in how the roadway will be used,” Abele said.

Other residents, such as Laura Pfaff, said they’re worried about the parking lane elimination − which she said could cause problems for people using Lake Park on weekends.

Tapia said a city survey showed parking use was less than 50% on the street. He also said the protected curb wouldn’t block access to driveways or crosswalks, and would be designed to accommodate snowplows and emergency vehicles.

Protected bike lanes have been installed in other Milwaukee neighborhoods without causing problems, supporters said.

“We have evidence these kinds of changes make our streets safer,” said Anna Bailliekova, a member of the city Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, X and Facebook.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee’s Lake Drive getting protected bike lanes over homeowner objections