By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – A new program beginning Tuesday in Omaha gives residents the chance to discuss neighborhood issues one-on-one with Mayor Jim Suttle.
The Neighborhood Walks program is a collaboration between the city and UNO's Neighborhood Center. Once a month, Mayor Suttle plans to meet with neighborhood associations and walk the area to discuss that neighborhood's areas of concern.
Ron Abdouch, Executive Director of UNO's Neighborhood Center, says events such as Neighborhood Walks are important to Omaha's quality of life. He says the city's 150 neighborhood associations are the "building blocks" of the community.
Abdouch says the primary concern of all neighborhood associations he's met with is traffic control. Second is code enforcement, and crime is third. The Neighborhood Center also has offices in Council Bluffs and Carter Lake. Abdouch says the same three concerns are expressed by those cities' neighborhood associations.
Not all neighborhood associations will be involved in the Neighborhood Walks. Abdouch says they plan to select neighborhoods that represent Omaha's diversity.