Right Place, Right Time: How Advocates in Omaha are Making Streets Safer
On October 29, 2024, AJ Moellenbeck’s phone pinged. “REPORTING LIVE from Little Bohemia 🚨📰,” Jared Haynes wrote. In the attached photos, fresh paint and cones hugged a street corner. The next day, the two shared the photo on Instagram, citing it as a win:
“🚧 Exciting News in Little Bohemia! Painted curb extensions and plastic bollards have been added to the intersection of S 13th St. and William St.”
Moellenbeck and Haynes are key members of Strong Towns Omaha, a fresh face in the city’s advocacy scene. Back in August, the group approached the Little Bohemia Business Improvement District (BID) with an idea that would make the corridor a little friendlier to all the patrons getting around on foot. Strong Towns Omaha’s proposition was simple, swift and inexpensive: Add painted curb extensions and makeshift bollards for protection.
They immediately found an ally in the BID. “They were very easy to talk to,” Moellenbeck told me. "And they knew exactly what we were talking about.”
Originally, Strong Towns Omaha members planned to do the installation themselves, as somewhat of a guerrilla endeavor backed by the blessings of the businesses on the block. As to why this particular corridor? It’s an up-and-coming neighborhood, Moellenbeck tells me. New developments are emerging, small businesses are popping up, and there’s just an ineffable sense of a comeback sweeping Little Bohemia. Yet, this historic district on the upswing is flanked on one side by a road that, simply put, could kill you.
The location was perfect, and Haynes worked in the area. However, the more the group members familiarized themselves with the vicinity, the less confident they were that the tactical route was the right one. “It was a pretty major arterial,” Moellenbeck assured me. “And if we did it wrong, that could draw some negativity.” Anxious that a DIY effort could actually backfire and create a more dangerous stroad, they turned to the Department of Public Works (or DPW). To their pleasant surprise, DPW staff weren’t just receptive to the idea but actually wanted to do the installation themselves.
There was still a question of money and maintenance, however. That’s where Strong Towns Omaha’s relationship with the BID came into play. “They [DPW staff] loved the idea that the BID was involved, and they loved the idea that the BID would, in theory, take on the long-term maintenance of it,” Moellenbeck shared. “So with that, it felt like waving a magic wand.”
Nevertheless, he was surprised by how quickly the city acted. Strong Towns Omaha met with the DPW on October 3rd. Jared texted him on the 29th. “Maybe we got lucky,” Moellenbeck laughed. There’s definitely a sense of being in the right place and at the right time, but he believes the group was also well positioned to succeed.
The BID, while totally on board, wasn’t necessarily going to devote personnel and energy towards the project. There was so much else to worry about, and BIDs are generally concerned with economic development, not street design. The DPW, likewise interested, had several dozen other priorities piling up on a never-ending to-do list. Having the advocates be the go-between helped keep this project from falling through the cracks.
If they hadn't reached out, it’s possible that the plastic and paint wouldn’t have hit the pavement for another few months or years, if ever. “Omaha has plans for these types of projects enshrined in the city plan” Moellenbeck relayed. “But it can take years for them to actually happen.”
As for the next steps? Strong Towns Omaha is looking forward to beautifying the new additions to the neighborhood with a pavement mural. It’s still undecided whether an art project would be a community endeavor or something spearheaded by the local Arts Commission, but either way, the advocates are looking forward to adding some personality to the bollards on the block.
Are you ready to take action in your own place? A good first step is taking the free Crash Analysis Studio course. You’ll learn about the design choices that make streets dangerous and how to address them.
Asia (pronounced “ah-sha”) Mieleszko serves as a Staff Writer for Strong Towns. A dilettante urbanist since adolescence, she's excited to convert a lifetime of ad-hoc volunteerism into a career. Her unconventional background includes directing a Ukrainian folk choir, pioneering synaesthetic performances, photographing festivals, designing websites, teaching, and ghostwriting. She can be found wherever Wi-Fi is reliable, typically along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.