The view from a bike seat

I have lived in Omaha most of my adult life.  Up until about 5 years ago, the only parts of Omaha that I was familiar with included the places I could see from Fort, Maple, Blond, Dodge, Pacific, West Center, and the Interstate.  If I couldn't get there quickly by car, it was not a place I would typically visit.  About 5 years ago I started bike commuting.  Since then I've seen a lot more of the interesting, but slightly less traveled, places in Omaha.  Now that I've started seeing Omaha from a bike seat, it has been amazing to see how much of Omaha's interesting places I was missing.

The next time your out riding and see one of those "interesting" places in Omaha, snap a picture and send it to us at omahabikes AT gmail DOT com and we might post it here.

Here is a picture I took on my way to work today.  Does anyone know where I took this picture.

Bike Omaha Red Route

City crews have already started painting and striping the first route of the Bike Omaha bike lane network.  Here is what the Benson (Red) Route looked like "Before" they got started.  Omaha Bikes will have an "After" video of this route once it is finished.

Bike Omaha Benson (Red) Route - BEFORE from Omaha Bikes on Vimeo.

This video show the Bike Omaha Benson (Red) route before any work was done to add bike lane markings and sign-age. Lanes are being painted now, and we will have an "After" video up once the signs and paint are completed on this route.

Who wants to be famous?

Omaha Bikes will be recording some video footage of the "Bike Omaha" bike lane network this Saturday.  We would love to have as many people along as possible so we can film other people riding along these sections of road.  Once the city paints the lanes, sharrows, and adds the "Bike Omaha" network signage, we will repeate this process so we can get a good BEFORE/AFTER view of the "Bike Omaha" network from a riders perspective.

We will be riding SLOW and stopping often to check the video, smell the roses, drink a few beverages, etc so all experience levels are welcome, but you should be comfortable riding in traffic.  Just wear what you usually commute/ride in and bring a few bucks for refreshments along the way.

If you have bike or helmet mountable video hardware, we could also use your help getting as much raw video as possible.

If you are interested, you can leave a comment here or contact us directly at OmahaBikes AT gmail DOT com and give us enough information for us to contact you to let you know where an when to meet up with us.  We will also update this post with time and location details tomorrow afternoon.

UPDATE: Meet at Benson Grind (6107 Maple Street) at 11:00am.  See you there.

Google Maps BIKE THERE

If your ride a bike and you are familiar with Google Maps, you have probably wished, at one point or another, that Google offered a "Bike There" feature. Well, the wait is over. Google now supports "Bicycling" directions. It may not be perfect, but it's a start. "Give it a try" and tell us what you think.

While your playing with Google Maps, take a minute to swing by PeopleForBikes.org and sign the petition.

Peopleforbikes.org is dedicated to bringing together people who are passionate about bikes. Our goal is to gather a million names of support, and to speak with one, powerful voice—to make bicycling safer, more convenient, and more appealing to everyone.

Midtown Crossing --> Dundee

OK, I started out trying to figure out a handful of people who could give me an opinion on this, but then realized that I might as well save the keystrokes and just put it out here....

Today's OmahaBikes survey: If you had to recommend a route for someone to bike from Midtown Crossing to the Blue Line Coffee in Dundee, what would it be? If you have two options ... one that was more beginner friendly and one that was for a more experieinced cyclist, that would be even better.

I appreciate your help! Julie

Lewis and Clark Trail Survey

Please take this survey concerning a possible trail through the Loess Hills from Hamburg to Sioux City. A bike trail or signed and designed multi-user route would be great.

Handlebar Happy Hour, TONIGHT!

OmahaBIKES is having a “Handlebar Happy Hour” tonight at the Slowdown, starting around 5:30ish, and we’d love to have you there!

We are particularly interested in getting the midtown/downtown commuting crowd around the table, as we will have some new maps from Marty Shukert showing potential changes/tweaks to the Bike Omaha 20 mile loop routes, and we would like to get your input.  Specifically, we’re looking at the “red” route that will take you from downtown to the Benson area, and the “blue” route that will take you from downtown to Aksarben via Leavenworth.

We will also take your thoughts on bike parking and potential locations for bike racks.  (You can “ooh and ahh” at the new rack that was just installed in front of the Slowdown last week, too!)

Hope to see you there.

Bike Omaha 20 Mile Loop - Inaugural Ceremony

It's official. The 20 mile bike route system in Omaha, known as Bike Omaha, was kicked off today in a ribbon cutting ceremony presided by Omaha Mayor, Jim Suttle. In front of about 40 people, the mayor spoke for a few moments about the origins of the Bike Omaha system and its importance to Omaha. Also speaking was Kerri Peterson of Live Well Omaha and member of the Mayor's Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee. City of Omaha Traffic Engineer, Todd Pfitzer, was on hand to answer questions about the route.

Both Mayor Suttle and Ms. Peterson cited reasons for establishing this bike route network in Omaha. Among many reasons, advocating bike transportation in Omaha will help to attract young people to the city, promote safety for bicyclists, reduce traffic congestion in Downtown and Midtown, and increase the general health of the city by promoting a healthy lifestyle.

The Bike Omaha system is funded privately through the Peter Kiewit Foundation and an anonymous donor. The system will feature five initial routes:

• Benson, from Downtown to the Benson Business District
• Aksarben, from Downtown to Aksarben Village and ultimately along Mercy Road to 78th Street
• Happy Hollow, from the Benson Route at 48th and Miami to the Keystone Trail
• Doorly, from Downtown to the Zoo
• Midtown, from Creighton University to the Field Club Trail and Lauritzen Gardens

In addition, there will be connecting routes that will provide access to the regional trail network, serving many important destinations around the city.

Todd Pfitzer said that the Benson Route should be completed this November.

Also announced today was a partnership between Activate Omaha and the City of Omaha to provide bicycle parking racks along the Bike Omaha routes.

Media













Resources

• Bike Omaha system map
• Peter Kiewit Foundation
• Mayor's Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee
• Activate Omaha
• Live Well Omaha
  

Ribbon Cutting - Bike Omaha System

Please join us!!

Activate Omaha along with the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee to the Mayor will perform a ribbon cutting ceremony for the first segment of the Bike Omaha System on

Monday, August 10th

at 1:30 pm

on 16th & Chicago

This will mark the completion of part of the Doorly Route of the Bike Omaha system, a planned 20 miles of on street bicycle facilities. We would love to have your support in this ceremonious event!!! Please join us that afternoon on bike, on foot, or in spirit!!

Omaha Cyclists Try Out New 16th Street Bike Lanes

On Friday, July 24, 2009, cyclists in Omaha were surprised to discover that during a street resurfacing project on 16th Street, bike lanes had been painted on the street.

Sixteenth Street, between Chicago Street and Cuming Street was reduced from a four lane road (two lanes in each direction), to a three lane road (one lane in each direction, plus a center turning lane), with a bike lane and parking lane on each side.

Out of context, it may appear silly to have a few block of bike lanes downtown, but these fit into the larger 20 mile plan, still being developed. Consider that Burt Street, near the north end of the lanes on 16th Street, can be used as a good route to connect with points further west, such as 40th Street, Hamilton Street, and on to the Happy Hollow Trail.

The street resurfacing isn't quite done, and motorists have been observed to be confused about the lane changes, so caution is advised when riding the new bike lanes.





Below is a video of a few Omaha cyclists trying out the lanes. Thanks for Michael A, Tim B, and Rafal D for coming out and starring in the video.