A Community In Action

Before and After Shots

The Guerrilla Trail Crew strikes again!  This time with more force.  Nearly 20 volunteers gathered together along the West Papio Trail whose mission was to clear portions of the trail that were missed by city crews.  Volunteers attacked from all sides of the trail system.  Some starting as far south as 144th and 'F' Street.  More volunteers started along mid portions of the trail near Morton Elementary and Scutt Catholic School and a large group formed near the trail head at 160th and Burdette Street.  In all there were roughly 20 individuals from all four corners of Omaha.  Volunteers came from various bike clubs and neighborhood associations as well as from across town.Many volunteers traveled from downtown, midtown and south Omaha to help out.  Most of them never use this trail system and may never.  But that didn't matter.  They were part of a movement to help change the way Omahans think about their community.  This is more than just snow removal.  It's community involvement.  Ordinary citizens gathering together to solve a problem.  In this instance the problem is a lack of snow removal from a very long trail network.  Even more impressive than the adult volunteers were the children who were brought along to help.  Approximately five guerrilla volunteers were elementary school-age or younger.  All came armed with snow shovels and cookies.  Their excitement and enthusiasm were contagious.  Children getting involved in community activism!  What an amazing thing to watch.  One young boy mentioned he wants to organize his own guerrilla trail crew with fellow students from Morton Elementary.  When most of us were tired and ready to call it a day, these kids wanted to keep shoveling snow. 

As you can see in the photographs we were able to make a sizable dent in opening the trail.  Jim C. started clearing from the 144th & 'F' Street portion and worked his way north.  His work is shown in the photo above.  As you can see he worked late into the night.  Joel, Josh, Kim, Kevin, Zach and others started in the middle of the trail and worked their way north and south.  Roughly a dozen others, I forgot all their names, started from the north end of the trail and managed to open a large length of the trail.  One large snow blower and a dozen people with shovels and ice picks managed to cut their way through the extremely wet and heavy snow.  When we first got started we were worried we would not get far.  The snow was packed from weeks of inattention and pedestrian travel.  We all managed to get it done. 

We hit a sizable road block when reaching Morton Elementary school just south of Pacific and west of Bob Boozer drive.  This section was drifted and packed by ATV and pedestrian travel.  The snow was too deep and wet for the group to complete in one day.  We were tired and thirsty.  Someone mentioned 'Beer' and that was all it took to get us to pack up our shovels and call it a day.  Most of the north-end group met up at Old Chicago pizzeria where we shared war stories and beers and talked about how to grow the idea behind the GTC.  We all agreed on one thing.  Regardless of whose responsibility it is to clear snow from sidewalks and paths, the responsibility ultimately falls on the community.  We will not depend on city government to solve all of our problems.  When the city runs out of money, personnel and equipment, WE take over.  We are your neighbors.  In one week "we" grew from five to 20.  Next time perhaps we'll grow to 100.  Individuals throughout the city took action on Sunday.  Some addressed issues in their own neighborhoods while others set out to clear bridges and trails near their own corner of Omaha. 

Moving forward we would like to see this Blog and the Facebook Page be a central location where communities and neighbors can communicate and report problems on trail systems.  With future snow storms coming we would like people to report areas that were missed by city crews.  Once people report problems volunteers can take action and clear these areas.  It's almost guaranteed that most bridges and underpasses will not be cleared.  City equipment can't reach them.  These areas are of particular concern and could be addressed by neighbors and volunteers.  The most important task at hand is to get the word out to your friends and neighbors and get them hooked into the network.  Once communities are aware that "we" exist they will be more likely to take action themselves.  So please spread the word!  And most of all...TAKE ACTION!