Changes in trail route opposed

A controversy is brewing over a proposed recreational trail that would go through several homeowners' yards in southeast Omaha.

The 10-foot-wide, paved trail would be part of a planned connection between Omaha's Field Club and Keystone hiking and biking trails.

The controversial part of it would go along yards on the south side of D Street from about 42nd Street to about 36th Street.

The concept — linking Omaha's major north-south trails with an east-west route — has been in the planning stages for more than a decade. General routes had been worked out a couple years ago for an approximately four-mile long connector from the Keystone Trail near 62nd and H Streets to the southern end of the Field Club Trail, near Vinton Street east of 36th Street. The City of Omaha and the Papio-Missouri Valley Natural Resources District are working on the trail.

It would be built in phases. The eastern portion, from 45th and Dayton Streets to the Field Club Trail, including the contested section, could be built first. Construction on that 1.5 mile stretch could begin in the summer of 2011. It would cost an estimated $3 million, paid for by the NRD.

Many neighbors on the eastern stretch were excited about the prospect of the trail coming through, said Rebecca Barrientos-Patlan, a leader in the Burlington Road Neighborhood Association.

They expected the trail to be built where a map originally showed it — between railroad tracks and the backside of businesses that are on the north side of D Street between 42nd and 36th Streets, said Virgil Patlan, president of the Burlington Road group.

Then this summer, homeowners along D Street received a surprise in the mail — letters from real estate appraisers about acquiring part of their side yards for the trail.

Patlan said that's the first he and other neighbors had heard of a plan to route the trail through people's yards. The affected neighbors “are strongly opposed to it,” he said.

The neighborhood association will meet Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, 41st and J Streets, to talk about the issue. The group hasn't taken a position yet, Patlan said, but its leaders believe the city and NRD haven't adequately notified neighbors of the proposed route.

Officials are planning a public meeting for 6:30 p.m. July 29 at the Salvation Army Kroc Center, 2825 Y St., said Dennis Bryers, an Omaha city park planner.

He said city and NRD officials working on the project will be there, as will people from the Big Muddy Workshop, the consultant on the project.

Bryers said the consultants have determined the south side of D Street would be the best location for the trail. It would put trail users away from the entrances to businesses on the north side of D Street. It would cross city streets instead of driveways used by trucks. It would be safer than the railroad track route because it would be more visible and less isolated, Bryers said.

He also said some business people north of D Street opposed the railroad track route because it would restrict businesses' access to the railroad tracks.

But going along the south side of D Street would require acquiring parts of some homeowners' and businesses' property, he said.

Bryers couldn't say Friday how many feet of people's yards the trail would take up. It would vary from property to property.

Some of what's currently lawn is actually city right of way. Beyond that, the city and NRD would have to acquire slivers of people's property, about five to 10 feet, Bryers said.

The appraisers' letters were the beginning of the process to negotiate with property owners to purchase that ground, he said.

“We realize that if it's your land, it doesn't matter how small it is, it's your land,” he said. “We're trying to minimize by our design how much land we need, to take as little land as possible.”

Contact the writer:

444-1057, christopher.burbach@owh.com

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