- Video shows north 30th Street.
- Neighbors are worried about speeding, particularly after a car crashed into a daycare in December.
- The owner of Crayon Castle Daycare, along with her staff and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, is seeking to understand how MAPA's road diet will benefit 30th
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
For years neighbors have tried to bring attention to the speeding in this area, and it has now become a more significant movement after a car crashed into this daycare in December.
Now, the daycare owner, her staff, and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office are going to the city's planning agency for an answer on its safe street plan and how this will benefit this area.
Since the crash, they barely missed the infant room and left this wooden fence in pieces. Neighbors have rallied for change by making signs and placing them along 30th Street. The crash also caught the attention of law enforcement— driving the Douglas County Sheriff's Office to patrol the area more.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency recognized that 30th Street is a high-priority area when it comes to speeding and has announced it needs community feedback for its safe streets and roads for all plans. The project provides five billion dollars of federal money over the next five years to make streets across Omaha safer.
I spoke to MAPA and Jacque Casey the owner of the daycare about what 30th Street specifically needs.
"What was recommended within the plan is called a lane reconfiguration that takes that four-lane roadway in narrows it down to three lanes and so through lane removes a lot of conflict points that otherwise drivers would experience at intersections and also has a proving record of slowing traffic," said Jim Boerner with MAPA.
“My hope is that this meeting will change quicker if we can as a community get together and get a big voice," said Casey.
I’m told by MAPA that a road diet is a solution that could be done within the year. With federal funding and approval. On 30th and Tucker, I’m Melissa Wright.
