OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The hustle and bustle on a busy N 30th street have become a real concern for people who live, work, and walk around the Florence neighborhood of North Omaha.
"We walk across the street and they don’t want to slow down," Learvina Jackson, a pedestrian said. "They blow their horns and it’s very dangerous."
Semi vehicles and other large trucks carrying freight are a regular sight along the stretch between Interstate 680 to the North and U.S. Route Hwy 75 to the south.
The heavy traffic has been a problem for years, but now the City of Omaha is looking to work with those close to the area in hopes of finding solutions.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) has provided a number of alternatives for neighbors to consider, each one would affect the surrounding neighborhoods in different ways.
Some would require the construction of a new bridge connecting I-680 to Hwy 75, an option neighbor Barbara Sudds said she prefers because it wouldn't require homes to be demolished to make way for the new roadway.
"The only alternative is gonna be the bridge," Sudds said.
Courtney Barber, Associate Transportation Planner for MAPA, said each of the city’s options comes with its own set of roadblocks. The hope is to get enough feedback which will clear the way forward to a potential fix.
"They all have challenges," Barber said. "There’s tradeoffs and ultimately it’ll be up to elected officials with input from the public to determine which of these is the way forward."
Barber said the study of the corridor will be complete by the end of the year.
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