If you have ridden or walked on Omaha trails recently you may have noticed that there are many trail closures. The April 2023 Trails update from the Omaha Parks Department included closures on the Keystone Trail, the Riverfront Trail, and the Big Papio Trail. Mode Shift members noticed that some trails have detours for closures and some do not. Many use the trails for transportation and recreation and having no detours or difficult detours limits access and could reduce trail usage and push trail users into more dangerous situations such as sidewalks on busy streets. So, Mode Shift Omaha’s Bike Team is launching a petition to the City of Omaha to request safe detours for all trail closures!
Petition Text:
Recognizing that the Omaha Trail System will periodically require closure for maintenance and repair, whether scheduled or emergency, and further recognizing that bicyclists and pedestrians rely on the trail system for transportation access to many parts of the city, we the undersigned ask that the City of Omaha, its departments, and its contractors be required to provide safe and marked detours around such closures. Such consideration is already given to occupants of motor vehicles whenever a section of the road system is closed; we deserve similar consideration when one of our major transportation routes is denied to us.
Example of a current trail closure on the Big Papio Trail that does not show a detour.