Construction on new North Omaha Beltline trail to begin this spring
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - It’s a project that’s been on the books for years, and now it’s finally coming to fruition: a trail along the old railroad corridor through North Omaha.
“The idea is to reuse the former rail corridor for recreation, active transportation and access to natural resources,” says Eric Williams, planner at the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, who had a hand in the planning and design of the new trail. ”That part of the community has been disinvested for a number of decades and specifically the former industrial corridor near the railroad has seen dumping from heavy construction, and other types of lower value property uses over the years.”
The Omaha Beltline Trail will connect the intersection of Hamilton St. and Military Ave to the North Omaha Transit Center, roughly following the former railroad tracks, and going through and around Adams Park.
The Papio NRD is spearheading the project with the City of Omaha. Williams says it’s been a project that many have been waiting to start.
“The Beltline corridor has been identified as a potential project in the North Omaha revitalization planning efforts, the City of Omaha city of transportation masterplan, and the NRD is taking the lead and saying this recreation and active transportation asset is a high value to the community and we want to work with the City of Omaha to see this as the first step towards more reinvestment in the community,” Williams adds.
There are several phases of the project that are still being tweaked, and exact routes are still being planned in some spots, as described in the trail’s master plan.
But the trail’s main goal is interconnectivity, and offering several modes of transportation for hundreds of Omahans.
“Omaha has traditionally been designed around automobile transportation system only, and I think were starting to realize there are people who choose to use different form of transportation whether that’s walking, riding a bike or like to use transit, and also those who don’t have the ability to choose but use transit and other forms of transportation out of necessity.”
Construction will begin this spring on the first segment from the North Omaha Transit Center to the intersection of 31st and Sprague, near Druid Hill Elementary School. That intersection will also connect travelers to the North Omaha trail, which is in its beginning stages, too.
“Recognizing those points of connection and making sure that we include that as a key part of the design is really critical, there are people who do use trails for transportation,” Williams says. “A lot of people use the Keystone trail, the Big Papio trail to get to Offutt which is right by the trail.”
The trail will also connect to the Paxton Boulevard trail, which heads west to Fontenelle Park.
“These are steps toward a comprehensive network of trails, having one trail is good, but one plus one equals seven when it comes to trails, the more connected they are, the more benefits you get.”
The trail will be a 15-minute walk away from more than a dozen schools near the trail, including North High, Skinner Magnet, King Elementary and Walnut Hill. It will also connect several parks, and community spaces like the Malcom X Foundation, Permaculture Center, and urban farming locations.
Williams says the trail is modeled off of other successful projects in different states, like the Greenway in Minneapolis and the Atlanta Beltline.
Council Bluff’s FIRST AVE trail is also being built on a former rail corridor.
The hope for Omaha’s Beltline is that with it’s revitalization, it will help improve business districts like the Walnut Hill district at 40th and Military.
Copyright 2022 WOWT. All rights reserved.
