Hiker/biker bridge over North 27th planned

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BY JORDAN DRESSER / Lincoln Journal Star

Lorenzo Taylor and Dupree Prentice wait until the coast is clear before darting across North 27th Street on their bikes.

"I'm scared, but I don't think about it," Dupree, 11, said. "I just do it."

The city of Lincoln is hoping to relieve this fear.

It announced plans Tuesday to build a $1.76 million MoPac Trail bridge over North 27th Street near Y Street. Officials hope the bridge will be finished in 2007.

Mayor Coleen Seng said in a news release the bridge will give trail users a safe crossing over busy 27th Street.

Carrisa Wilkinson, a community center worker at the Salvation Army on North 27th, said the neighborhood needed a project like this.

"We have known of a few kids from the neighborhood being hit," Wilkinson said. "It will make a lot of parents' jobs easier."

It will also make Dupree and Lorenzo's lives easier.

Dupree said he once had a close call with a car when he was crossing the street and had trouble with his bike's brakes.

"I almost got hit and there was a lot of traffic," Dupree said. "I got scared, but then I got mad."

Lorenzo, 14, said they don't wait for a red light because it takes too long.

"Yeah it's dangerous," Lorenzo said. "People try to rush through the street and there are only small gaps. Some nice people stop once in a while."

Ken Krueger, director of operations at the Salvation Army, said trying to cross the street for lunch is "murder" and he sees the bridge benefiting everyone.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Krueger said. "I see so many wrecks. It's a nightmare."

For this project, the city is going to apply for $500,000 in federal grants, and an additional $1 million could be provided through tax increment financing.

Tax increment financing is a tool cites can use to encourage development. Taxes on the difference between the old taxable value of the land and the redeveloped value are used to pay off bonds sold to finance redevelopment.

The Great Plains Trails Network is also overseeing a new fund-raising effort to raise $125,000. Barbecues and bike rides are a few of the  activities planned, said president Beth Thacker.

Thacker also wants people to know the bridge will not be just for bike riders.

"It's for everybody — skateboards, wheelchairs whatever," Thacker said.

And she can't wait.

"This is a real necessary bridge for the safety of the people and it's a beautiful bridge," Thacker said. "It's been needed for a long time."

Reach Jordan Dresser at 473-7240 or at jdresser@journalstar.com.