AARP Hearing Center
A temporary traffic-calming circle was used to demonstrate how a roundabout can reduce driver speeds. Representatives from AARP Wisconsin, local partners and the city of Milwaukee are shown in front of the now permanent traffic circle.
AARP
The timing was both tragic and on target.
While conducting a walk audit arranged by AARP Wisconsin and local partners to observe and document traffic safety concerns in Milwaukee’s Amani neighborhood, AARP staff, city officials and community residents watched in horror as a pedestrian — a senior citizen with a mobility disability — was struck by a car.
The man survived but the incident was proof of the problem the witnesses had come to study along a residential roadway with no traffic lights or stop signs.
After completing a speed study, the city used an 2023 AARP Community Challenge grant to install a temporary traffic calming circle to demonstrate how such street-level installations reduce motorist speeds, increase driver awareness and help make roadways in residential neighborhoods safer for everyone.
The demonstration worked. Prior to the installation of the traffic circle, 18 percent of drivers were going 35 mph or faster. (The speed limit is 25 mph.) After the installation, fewer than 1 percent of vehicles were moving at 35 mph or more. That's a 95 percent reduction in the number of speeders. The traffic circle is now permanent.
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Page published May 2025
