On Monday, June 8th, the City of Omaha closed Pacific Street from 204th to 211th to widen the street to three (3) lanes to accomidate the new school being built just south of Buckskin Trail and Pacific Street. Almost immedietly, traffic in the southeast corner of our neighborhood tripled.

 

When I contacted officials from the City of Omaha in April to get a 'heads up' on what was planned for the future street closing, I was informed that there were no plans to close Pacific Street. Even today, the cities traffic engineer claimed the closing was a directive of the Elkhorn Public Schools, not the City of Omaha. In any event, the cities Traffic Engineer and I have taken steps to lessen the drive thru traffic due to the closing. Our obvious concern was the number and speed of traffic driving through our streets.

 

The City of Omaha will be erecting a sign at the entrance of Roundup Circle indicating that the entrance and the neighborhood is not a 'through street'. On Rawhide Rd, plans are in motion to control the speed of traffic by use of the Omaha Police. PLEASE watch your speed within the boundries of the neighborhood; traffic citations for travelers going over 50 mph have already been issued on Rawhide.

 

Current plans indicate that Pacific Street will be closed through August of this year.