Metro Area Bicycle Discussion

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 3:15 pm

iamjacobm wrote:Looks like the 32nd Street plan is moving forward with bump-outs and bikes lanes instead of the dedicated cycle track. Would be a great addition to the system.

I'm excited about this. I prefer this to the separated two-way lanes on one side.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:08 am

Amazing cycle super highways making bikes the transport of the future

Some interesting concepts for bike trails:

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 8:30 am

That guy in the last picture. Love it.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 3:28 pm

Looks to me about as likely to happen as the architects concepts of cities built in the ocean with trees growing out of all the rooftops.

At least the clip-art people are wearing normal clothes. I have to laugh whenever I see renderings of bike-commuters all lined up in Tour De France spandex.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 11:02 am

Real solutions like left turn boxes and well defined bike lanes with signage are really all you need for an effective system. Austin really doesn't have much dedicated bike infrastructure. Just a lot of paint and metal signs.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 2:51 pm

iamjacobm wrote:Real solutions like left turn boxes and well defined bike lanes with signage are really all you need for an effective system. Austin really doesn't have much dedicated bike infrastructure. Just a lot of paint and metal signs.

Yeah, exactly.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 7:51 pm

Harney St funding still planned for 2016 in the latest transportation funding plan.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 4:51 pm

One would think they'd install bycicle friendly sewer grates in dedicated bike lanes.

PotatoeEatsFish · Post by **PotatoeEatsFish** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 10:18 pm

Coyote wrote:Amazing cycle super highways making bikes the transport of the future

Some interesting concepts for bike trails:

I would be the guy on the train below the path XD

U R my Helix · Post by **U R my Helix** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 5:57 pm

I think the bike highway drawing goes to the projects that will never be built file.
I often observe our bike commuters on Leavenworth, Saddle Creek and Center. Often when they encounter a red light they edge around all the stopped cars and run the red light so they can back up cars all over again. Apparently red lights don't apply to many of them.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:21 pm

Slobs go second..

Dundeemaha · Post by **Dundeemaha** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:22 pm

U R my Helix wrote:I think the bike highway drawing goes to the projects that will never be built file.
I often observe our bike commuters on Leavenworth, Saddle Creek and Center. Often when they encounter a red light they edge around all the stopped cars and run the red light so they can back up cars all over again. Apparently red lights don't apply to many of them.

I often go jogging in the morning and observe our car commuters. Often when they encounter a stop sign they roll right past it barely avoiding colliding with pedestrians. Apparently stop signs don't apply to many of them.

Seriously though, both car and bike commuters ignore many laws that are inconvenient for them. For car drivers it's mostly speed limits, stop signs, no right on red. For bike riders it's stop signs and red lights. Blame the individual.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Fri Oct 30, 2015 12:19 pm

Turner Boulevard Extension

http://www.douglascountypurchasing.org/ ... ension.pdf

Sealed bids for the renovation/construction of the City of Omaha Turner Boulevard Trail Extension, North 30th
Street from Dodge to Cuming Streets and Burt Street from N. 30th to N. 17th Streets, Omaha, NE are invited and will
be received on or before the bid opening date, as per the project’s specifications.

Anyone know more about this?

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 4:56 pm

I hope they work on the south connection to the Field Club trail soon. Field Club Train connects to a large neighborhood on either side, but getting from it to other trails either toward the north or south(west) is a pain. My wife and I would ride the trails a lot more if they ever finish the connections to the Keystone trail or Riverfront trail. They've been identified on the trails map for years now; is there any schedule to complete these?

Jason4225 · Post by **Jason4225** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 6:42 pm

They started work on the Keystone/Field Club connector this past summer. They were hoping for a December opening, but it looks more like it will follow the original timeline and they will be finished in February of next year. You can check out http://omahabikes.org/category/trails/ for updates.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 2:10 pm

Jason4225 wrote:They started work on the Keystone/Field Club connector this past summer. They were hoping for a December opening, but it looks more like it will follow the original timeline and they will be finished in February of next year. You can check out http://omahabikes.org/category/trails/ for updates.

That's awesome, thanks for the update! My wife and I will definitely be using this!

choke · Post by **choke** » Sun Mar 20, 2016 2:16 pm

http://omaha.quikbyke.com/#

Electric Bicycle Rentals

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Sun Mar 20, 2016 8:00 pm

Lazy hippies!

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Apr 05, 2016 11:49 pm

Seth wrote:
Jason4225 wrote:They started work on the Keystone/Field Club connector this past summer. They were hoping for a December opening, but it looks more like it will follow the original timeline and they will be finished in February of next year. You can check out http://omahabikes.org/category/trails/ for updates.
That's awesome, thanks for the update! My wife and I will definitely be using this!

Four miles of new trails scheduled to open this summer

image.jpeg

Post by **BRoss** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 10:14 am

I was wondering what they were paving next to the interstate.

Busguy2010 · Post by **Busguy2010** » Mon Oct 26, 2020 8:59 pm

Nothing more than thinking out loud, but there are some locations along trails where I wish there were bridges over the creek, on the Keystone Trail to be specific.

Some locations I'd really love to have a bridge over the creek are:

Maplewood Boulevard
Burt Street to connect to the Hy-Vee
Farnam Drive

That's it really. There's just a lot going on at those intersections and I've come into some situations where I was really wishing I didn't have to go to the next road crossing to go over the creek. Would anybody else appreciate more footbridges over the creek?

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu May 02, 2024 9:23 am

Annual Ride of Silence to be held May 15

The Bellevue Bicycle Club (BBC) will observe the International Ride of Silence on May 15th at 7:00 pm. This year marks the 22nd Anniversary of this event, which is designed to honor the memories of those killed in car-bike accidents or injured. It is to bring increased awareness to the safety needs of Cyclists while riding on the roads. Last year in Nebraska, there were six cyclists killed in bike/motor vehicle accidents. That is more than the last five years combined.

This year’s Omaha metro area Ride of Silence will be held on May 15. The ride will leave at 7PM from the Twin Creek Trailhead Parking lot, 3602 Raynor Parkway, Bellevue, NE.

Some of the cyclists at the start of the 2023 Ride of Silence

meliketrains · Post by **meliketrains** » Fri Jul 12, 2024 10:51 am

It's probably been discussed ad nauseum, but I've been thinking a lot about bike infrastructure downtown lately, and I think there's some really easy and really obvious things that can be done to improve it.

For starters. I'd love to see a reduction or outright removal of one-way roads in the core. Even during rush hour, you'd be hard pressed to find these one way roads congested. It could be 4:30 on a Friday afternoon and you could practically crawl across Farnam near City Hall without fear of being hit by a car. We just don't have the traffic to demand a 4-lane one-way. All it really does is encourage speeding and dangerous driving habits. Instead, a simple road diet or even just a standard two-way would be great.

We should also remove street parking on every other street and force people to use some of the underused parking lots/garages spaced throughout the downtown area. I frequently park in a random ez/fast lot, which only costs about 30 bucks per month. Street parking could still be available on the other streets for visitors or overflow. In its place, we could add protected bike lanes. Either one on each side or a widened two-way bike lane, whichever the City prefers.

Lastly, Id love to see some substantial upgrades to bike parking. My personal preference is the Dutch-style enclosed/garage bike parking. It's easy to light up, safe, clean, and can be actively monitored through CCTV/security guards. I'd be willing to pay exactly the same amount (30/month) for regular access to a facility like this. But really, any type of bike parking would be great, paid or otherwise. As it stands, I don't have many convenient options for bike parking around the downtown area.

Edit: Almost forgot to add! We desperately need changes to how crossings and curbs are designed. Not Just Bikes covers this extensively, but raised pedestrian crossings, narrowing of roads (especially at crossings!), and protected medians where needed are all really good ways to enable bike infrastructure and slow down traffic in the downtown area. I know our mayor loves her cars, but I'd be willing to bet her commute time stays exactly the same with these changes. At minimum, I'd be one extra car off the road ;)

Garrett · Post by **Garrett** » Fri Jul 12, 2024 10:54 am

A lot of cities are reconverting their downtown street grids to two way service. Regionally I think Cedar Rapids has done the most, and gotten a great bike network out of it too.

meliketrains · Post by **meliketrains** » Fri Jul 12, 2024 11:00 am

Garrett wrote: Fri Jul 12, 2024 10:54 am A lot of cities are reconverting their downtown street grids to two way service. Regionally I think Cedar Rapids has done the most, and gotten a great bike network out of it too.

I had the pleasure of visiting some of these cities recently, and even lived in downtown Lincoln for a brief period. I was always very jealous of their bike infrastructure. Really seems like so much lost opportunity for Omaha, but better late than never. Outside of downtown, some bike infrastructure pushed further west, at least to Blackstone along the streetcar line, is seriously needed as well.

F0R_L1F3 · Post by **F0R_L1F3** » Sat Jul 13, 2024 4:12 pm

Isn't there plans to look at converting a lot of streets downtown to two-way? I remember last year I read a few articles about it. I hope they go through.

https://www.planetizen.com/news/2023/06 ... treets-era
https://www.ketv.com/article/omaha-look ... n/44110489

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:48 pm

19th Street downtown is being resurfaced and they are painting a bike lane on the fresh asphalt.

Athomsfere · Post by **Athomsfere** » Mon Jul 21, 2025 2:10 pm

iamjacobm wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:48 pm 19th Street downtown is being resurfaced and they are painting a bike lane on the fresh asphalt.

Where's abouts?

Near Harney it would be great to see some of the on street parking get the axe.

locoluke · Post by **locoluke** » Mon Jul 21, 2025 4:46 pm

Athomsfere wrote: Mon Jul 21, 2025 2:10 pm
iamjacobm wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:48 pm 19th Street downtown is being resurfaced and they are painting a bike lane on the fresh asphalt.
Where's abouts?

Near Harney it would be great to see some of the on street parking get the axe.

I believe it starts south of Jackson

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Tue Jul 22, 2025 11:11 am

locoluke wrote: Mon Jul 21, 2025 4:46 pm
Athomsfere wrote: Mon Jul 21, 2025 2:10 pm
iamjacobm wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:48 pm 19th Street downtown is being resurfaced and they are painting a bike lane on the fresh asphalt.
Where's abouts?

Near Harney it would be great to see some of the on street parking get the axe.
I believe it starts south of Jackson

It starts at Leavenworth and they put on of those green boxes in for left turns there. It’s ends at Harney right now and they did take out maybe 10 street parking stalls on the west side of 19th by the Exchange Building.

Athomsfere · Post by **Athomsfere** » Thu Jul 24, 2025 10:09 am

Nice! A good incremental improvement. Even if it's only for a few blocks.

BuildTaller · Post by **BuildTaller** » Thu Jul 24, 2025 2:23 pm

Neat things we will never have

Busguy2010 · Post by **Busguy2010** » Thu Jul 24, 2025 8:23 pm

I can only imagine the nightmare that would be. I see people on those dam e-bikes whizzing by regularly every day on the trail. Its one thing for an avid cyclist who can maintain 20-30 mph, more power to them. I can respect that, but the e-bikes are mucking up the code, making it so any schmuck can use trails and sidewalks as a highway. If I'm not mistaken, there's a rule that no motorized vehicles are allowed on trails and sidewalks

locoluke · Post by **locoluke** » Fri Jul 25, 2025 12:32 am

Busguy2010 wrote: Thu Jul 24, 2025 8:23 pm I can only imagine the nightmare that would be. I see people on those dam e-bikes whizzing by regularly every day on the trail. Its one thing for an avid cyclist who can maintain 20-30 mph, more power to them. I can respect that, but the e-bikes are mucking up the code, making it so any schmuck can use trails and sidewalks as a highway. If I'm not mistaken, there's a rule that no motorized vehicles are allowed on trails and sidewalks

Per the Omaha Parks and Rec website, “all E-Bikes and E-Scooters” are allowed on City trails

Dundeemaha · Post by **Dundeemaha** » Fri Jul 25, 2025 7:37 am

Pedal assist e bikes that provide power relative to how hard you're pedaling are fantastic on both roads and trails.

Ebikes with a throttle can be obnoxious on a trail. But our roads are still so dangerous with cars flying around ignoring traffic laws it's better to have them there.

Would be great to have safer roads with protected bike lanes so we could prioritize trails for slower recreational uses.

Busguy2010 · Post by **Busguy2010** » Fri Jul 25, 2025 9:55 am

locoluke wrote: Fri Jul 25, 2025 12:32 am Per the Omaha Parks and Rec website, “all E-Bikes and E-Scooters” are allowed on City trails

Even if they are allowed, they just dont sit right with me. IMO, if youre one of those people thats been cycling for years and built up the stamina to go 30 mph for a long period of time, you earned the right. Although i dont care for when they blow by me either, but theres at least some merit there. But with ebikes, or pedal assist, any Cody, Kyle and Kevin can effortlessly go that fast. You see a lot more of them now. They're just kind of annoying.

Post by **Brad** » Fri Jul 25, 2025 11:20 am

locoluke wrote: Fri Jul 25, 2025 12:32 am
Busguy2010 wrote: Thu Jul 24, 2025 8:23 pm I can only imagine the nightmare that would be. I see people on those dam e-bikes whizzing by regularly every day on the trail. Its one thing for an avid cyclist who can maintain 20-30 mph, more power to them. I can respect that, but the e-bikes are mucking up the code, making it so any schmuck can use trails and sidewalks as a highway. If I'm not mistaken, there's a rule that no motorized vehicles are allowed on trails and sidewalks
Per the Omaha Parks and Rec website, “all E-Bikes and E-Scooters” are allowed on City trails

What's the difference between and E-Bike and an electric motorcycle? I'm guessing weight? The reason I ask, I see kids too young to have a motorcycle license blasting down the street on an E-Bike.

locoluke · Post by **locoluke** » Fri Jul 25, 2025 11:30 pm

Brad wrote: Fri Jul 25, 2025 11:20 am
locoluke wrote: Fri Jul 25, 2025 12:32 am
Busguy2010 wrote: Thu Jul 24, 2025 8:23 pm I can only imagine the nightmare that would be. I see people on those dam e-bikes whizzing by regularly every day on the trail. Its one thing for an avid cyclist who can maintain 20-30 mph, more power to them. I can respect that, but the e-bikes are mucking up the code, making it so any schmuck can use trails and sidewalks as a highway. If I'm not mistaken, there's a rule that no motorized vehicles are allowed on trails and sidewalks
Per the Omaha Parks and Rec website, “all E-Bikes and E-Scooters” are allowed on City trails
What's the difference between and E-Bike and an electric motorcycle? I'm guessing weight? The reason I ask, I see kids too young to have a motorcycle license blasting down the street on an E-Bike.

At least on a state level, an e-bike is a bike (meaning it has pedals) with a <750W electric motor that cuts out at any speed greater than 28 mph. There are three separate classes of e-bike based off of electric assist type and speed, but it seems like the rules regarding them don’t vary by class. I’d argue that 28 mph is maybe a little hot for the trails, though I suppose at this point they haven’t been enough of an issue to make any sort of headlines, so what do I know.

In my part of town (far southwest) we mostly have kids on dirt bikes. I’ve also noticed an uptick in e-scooters.

Athomsfere · Post by **Athomsfere** » Mon Jul 28, 2025 9:12 am

locoluke wrote: Fri Jul 25, 2025 11:30 pm
Brad wrote: Fri Jul 25, 2025 11:20 am
locoluke wrote: Fri Jul 25, 2025 12:32 am
Busguy2010 wrote: Thu Jul 24, 2025 8:23 pm I can only imagine the nightmare that would be. I see people on those dam e-bikes whizzing by regularly every day on the trail. Its one thing for an avid cyclist who can maintain 20-30 mph, more power to them. I can respect that, but the e-bikes are mucking up the code, making it so any schmuck can use trails and sidewalks as a highway. If I'm not mistaken, there's a rule that no motorized vehicles are allowed on trails and sidewalks
Per the Omaha Parks and Rec website, “all E-Bikes and E-Scooters” are allowed on City trails
What's the difference between and E-Bike and an electric motorcycle? I'm guessing weight? The reason I ask, I see kids too young to have a motorcycle license blasting down the street on an E-Bike.
At least on a state level, an e-bike is a bike (meaning it has pedals) with a <750W electric motor that cuts out at any speed greater than 28 mph. There are three separate classes of e-bike based off of electric assist type and speed, but it seems like the rules regarding them don’t vary by class. I’d argue that 28 mph is maybe a little hot for the trails, though I suppose at this point they haven’t been enough of an issue to make any sort of headlines, so what do I know.

In my part of town (far southwest) we mostly have kids on dirt bikes. I’ve also noticed an uptick in e-scooters.

I think differentiator should be PAS or not.

I've done 37, loaded, on my steel bike on the MOPAC. All legs and hills.

But if you can do ~30 without riding a bike consistently to build that up, you certainly should be able to just pull the throttle and go.

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Mon Jul 28, 2025 9:42 am

E-bikes are irritating to me as a cyclist because generally the riders zip around without following basic courtesy like "on your left" or act like the entire path is theirs to obliviously ride two or three abreast. That and the n00bs who have no idea how to control an electric motorcycle and just fly off the path when they smash the throttle.