I think most drivers have a "secret" road or two they rely on to speed up their travels around the city. Well, I do, anyway. The roads aren't actually secret, of course. It's just that folks don't seem to use them as much as they could. Instead, most people stick to the classics -- the 27th Streets and the O Streets of the city. Suckers.
Here's one example: During the evening rush hour, Capital Parkway can get clogged up coming out of Downtown, with slowdowns stretching as far as 48th Street. Why bother with that mess, when it is much easier and faster to take 16th Street to South to Sheridan?
That's just one of my examples. Do you have any speedy "shortcuts" you utilize in certain situations? What are they?
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Ride a bike. Stick mainly to bike trails. Quicker for me than driving!
I was a pizza delivery guy at the papa johns downtown for many years. 18th street is awesome. Sure it is only 25 MPH, but nobody uses it and many of the streets that cross it have stop or yield signs.
Same goes with D street, but it was much better back in the day you could go 35 MPH down it. It felt so strange going that fast down a side street.
I as well mostly bike. And for my short travels it is much quicker.
I work near 14th and Old Cheney and live at 14th and I-80. Instead of taking the backlogged turn lane to turn west at 14th and Old Cheney I go north on 14th turn at the prison and cut through their parking lot to Pioneers then shoot out to the 77 bypass. It saves me 10 minutes of waiting in traffic to get to 77.
I used to take P street to 19th to get to Capital Parkway. There are minimal lights there. But get behind someone that doesn’t know how to cross O Street and you’ll be there for a half hour.
When I lived in the 70th and South area, I took Capital Parkway/Normal to Sumner, and took Sumner all the way home. The longest stop on that stretch was at 48th, which is a long light. Then 56th could get tricky to cross.
All ‘back roads’ in Lincoln are two-lane roads, meaning the advantage of having a ‘quicker’ way evaporates if you get behind someone that is just out for a leisurely drive. And for whatever reasons, Lincolnites freak out if you pass them on a two-lane, city road when they’re going 15 in a 35 zone.
If I tell you about my secret backroads, you guys will all start using them and they won’t be good any more….
I live at 66th and Vine. I find taking Vine street to downtown to be a lot faster than taking O street.
Many people turn right before they get to Vine when heading north on 27th and tear through my neighborhood at 50 MPH to beat the light.
I have been sorely tempted to throw down tacks, especially when they nearly hit the neighbor kids or cats. 😛
I’m a fan of Holdrege- it’s often less busy than Vine, and it doesn’t have that stupid 25 MPH speed limit between 70th and 84th.
That 25 MPH speed limit on Vine is not so much a rule as a guideline.
I agree with jwiltshire - if i tell all my secrets, then everyone will use them. 😉
I do hate the 25 MPH limit on that stretch of Vine, but I got nicked there once by a speed trap so I usually take my time between 70th and 84th. However, the two officers that caught me were both very pretty female officers, so that took some of the sting out.
While 40th is clogged from Hwy. 2
to Sheridan at 5:00, 33rd Street
is never terribly busy..and you
still get the roundabout experience
at 33rd….
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