Omaha to Create Bike Lanes

"As part of Bike to Work Month, Mayor Mike Fahey announced on Monday that the city landed enough money to start connecting the Keystone Trail to the Riverfront Trail, and Creighton University to the Henry Doorly Zoo. The city also wants to add bike lanes to some extra-wide streets, create new street markings, add signage and create a new committee of bikers and pedestrians."

"'In cooperation with the city, Activate Omaha and Bikeable Communities, we have been successful in securing $600,000 in private contributions for the creation of Omaha's first on-street bicycle route system,' Fahey said, before kicking off a ceremonial ride to work."

From the Omaha World-Herald:

"The street routes will connect the Riverfront Trail with the Keystone Trail in central Omaha. From north to south, the Creighton University campus will be connected to the Henry Doorly Zoo."

"The idea is to create street routes that allow cyclists to ride from the trails in central Omaha to downtown without having to use busy arterial roads such as Dodge Street."

"The exact streets and design of the lanes have not been determined. Marty Shukert, a former Omaha city planning director who is active with the local group Bikeable Communities, said the route probably will use secondary streets that once served as streetcar routes. Those streets are wider and offer a place to install a bicycle lane without having to widen streets."

"Signs also may be used to alert motorists to the presence of cyclists."

"Shukert said that streets are much harder for cyclists to navigate than the city's trail system."