OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Safe Omaha Streets, a road safety advocacy organization, chose 72nd Street between Dodge and Pacific for their road safety audit because of the new developments being built like the city's central library.
Over the span of a month this past summer, they collected surveys in three categories. One for motorists and motorcyclists, another for pedestrians and people with disabilities and one for bicyclists.
The results from that report were released Monday. One of the common themes were about crosswalks.
"There aren't marked crosswalks along five of the intersections, so a lot of the motorists will encroach on the intersection," said Trilety Wade, co-founder of S.O.S.
They said motorists reported that the area was safe for driving, but stressful because of congestion and other drivers, a few examples.
For pedestrian conditions, Alex Mendoza is no stranger to the busy stretch of road.
"It's just not the safest feeling experience for being a pedestrian," said Mendoza, who participated in the pedestrian audit. "With the new library coming down there, for myself, I do have a couple little kids...so having safe pedestrian infrastructure is really important to me."
Multiple people also mentioned the condition of sidewalks in the survey.
"Some spaces the sidewalks are decent and wide," said Mendoza. "Other spaces, it's broken up. Walking along 72nd Street, you're so close up to cars that you're literally right next to the road."
For cyclists, the report found that bicyclists want more bicycle infrastructure around the area.
Thirty audit forms were submitted during the audit period. S.O.S said the next steps are to take their findings to the city over the next year. If you have feedback and didn't get a chance the join the audit, you can email safeomahastreets@gmail.com
Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage.
Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.
