OMAHA, Nebraska (WOWT) – The intersection of 50th Street and Underwood Avenue is temporarily a four-stop sign intersection. The City of Omaha will decide later if the changes should be permanent.
It’s part of their master plan to modernize the signal systems and improve overall safety. The blacked-out traffic lights are causing concern for some people, like Ashley Rodgers, who works at the Dundee Dell.
“I feel like people all over Omaha are just really quick to ignore stop signs,” Rodgers said.
A local resident showed 6 News a video of the heavy traffic. The owner of a nearby cafe said she was not surprised.
“This is a very busy area because of walkers, pedestrians and dogs,” said Connie Lang, owner of Dundee Double Shot Coffee.
The 50th and Underwood intersection is one of ten intersections the city will evaluate over the next two months.
According to Omaha Public Works, field studies documented satisfactory conditions that led to the removal of the traffic signal infrastructure. Data from the Federal Highway Administration showed that removing the unjustified signals can reduce accidents, prevent red light violations and reduce excessive wait times at intersections.
Lang said she was open to change.
“We’ve been thinking for a long time about what we can do to reduce speeds on this highway at 50th, and the stop sign was one possible solution,” Lang said.
The city said it would monitor traffic, collect data and review community feedback, and would only make changes at intersections where conditions were satisfactory.
However, Rodgers is still afraid of the change and she hopes that the light will come back.
“I almost got hit and one of our employees got hit,” Rodgers said. “I have a feeling people are just going to speed around without lights.”
The Omaha Department of Public Works told 6 News that it has removed 36 traffic lights since 2017. They were all evaluated in the same way.
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