 hen
former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey secured federal funding for
building his vision of the 'Back to the River' trail, he did not
picture families biking and hiking with their children having to
cross busy streets. The original plan for the trail was for it to
run along the Missouri River banks from downtown Omaha north to
Boyer Chute near Ft. Calhoun, NE.
The Omaha Airport Authority has
since changed a portion of the trail, redirecting it to cross
Abbott Drive and run along the shoreline of Carter Lake west of
the airport. According to Howard Kooper, the Omaha Airport
Authority chairman, several reasons come into play for rejecting
the original route of the trail. Those reasons include "the
safety and security of aviation operations as well as the general
safety for trail users and airline passengers alike". Last
week, Omaha City Council members voted to join Kerry and Mayor
Mike Fahey in their effort to restore the original plan for the
trail and build it to run along the levy just east of Eppley
Airfield. They feel the rerouting of the bike and pedestrian trail
could cause bigger risk of injury to those using it. In a recent
letter Kerrey wrote to Mayor Fahey, he stated that the route along
the river "is clearly the best, safest and lowest cost
route". Although Mayor Fahey and city council members seem to
agree with Kerrey, the final decision still lies with the Airport
Authority. A recent article in the Omaha World-Herald stated
that there are other pedestrian trails in the United States that
also run in close proximity of airports such as the Mount Vernon
Trail which runs 18.5 miles from George Washington's home to the
Theodore Roosevelt Island near the Lincoln Memorial. One of the
favorite stops along this trail called Gravelly Point is at the
end of the Ronald Reagan National Airport runway. Pedestrians
often stop there to view jets landing and taking off. This has not
caused any security risks to the airport so far. Even during the
9/11 terrorists attack, the trail remained open. In the end, the
Federal Aviation Administration will probably have to approve any
trail along Eppley's perimeter. 
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he Omaha Airport Authority board said this
week that they would consider allowing the proposed riverfront trail be built on Eppley property but probably not on the
levee.
Interference with
electronic navigation equipment needed in aircraft approaches
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