OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – History runs deep in Little Italy. Just ask the Venditte’s.
“Grandparents, my parents. I’ve lived here. We grew up down here,” said Bernie Venditte.
Tradition keeps him in Little Italy, but he wouldn’t mind if the one-way signs on Pierce Street got lost in history.
“It’s been a two-way street for over 100 years. For a two-block area, it just doesn’t make sense,” said Venditte.
In 2012, Pierce Street, between the two blocks of 6th and 8th, was made into a one-way to re-route heavy truck traffic out of a residential area. What residents say was supposed to be temporary, remains permanent more than a decade later. Besides an inconvenience, Venditte said it’s a safety issue with people driving the wrong way.
But what Venditte thinks, as resident who lives a block away, doesn’t have much pull. The fate of the street rests solely on the homeowners that live directly on the two-block strip.
To turn it back to two ways, 67 percent of the street needs to agree to it. Those in favor of turning it back to two-ways will be circulating a petition and have 90 days to collect signatures. Homeowner Chris Jauch will not be signing in favor of changing it back to two-ways.
“As far as access to everything, you have to drive half a block to get where you need to be. I think that’s also fine,” said Jauch.
Many expressed frustration that only those directly on the street have a say. They asked public works engineer Austin Rowser if there’s a way to circumvent the petition. It was a hard no.
“We’re going to do what we can. If there’s nothing that can be done, at least we tried,” said Venditte.
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