OMAHA, Neb (KMTV) — Back in 2021, Omaha decided to try something new with its bike lanes.
On Harney street from Turner Blvd to 10th street, the city set up a protected lane for bikes that used physical barriers to keep riders away from vehicle traffic.
The city hoped the new Midtown to Market bike path along with conveniently placed bike share stations would encourage more to commute by bike rather than car and a recently released study shows that is exactly what happened.
“People are using it year round and bike infrastructure needs to be in place all year round,” said Julie Harris, Executive director of BikeWalk Nebraska.
The study found the protected lane brought plenty of benefits to bikes, cars and pedestrians alike.
Results showed that usage of the lane was consistent every day of the week, indicating that the path was being used by commuters rather than recreational riders.
More folks commuting by bike means fewer cars, and traffic on the roads.
There were also some results that indicate bicyclists, as well as scooter riders, preferred using the lane rather than sidewalks allowing pedestrians more room on the sidewalks.
“There are more people using it closer to the Midtown crossing area rather than downtown. That’s not what I expected to see I expected the opposite. That tells me people are using it for transportation, they are not just down in the old market going from one destination to another, they are using it farther west and coming in,” said Harris.
The results of the year-long study are promising but there is some uncertainty when it comes to the future of the Midtown to Market Pathway.
“Right now we are in an interesting holding pattern that we didn’t anticipate when we built this pilot project and that is the streetcar. We don’t know yet where it is gonna go, will it be on Harney will it not be on Harney? We are in this holding pattern until we know more,” said Harris.
Officials say they hope to have more information on where the streetcar will run before they release their final report on the Midtown to Market bike path later this fall.
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