In this episode of Reader Radio, news editor Chris Bowling sits down with Sarah Johnson, former member of Mode Shift Omaha, about the Harney Street protected bike lane and government transparency in Omaha.

Johnson had been part of the 10-year fight to bring a protected bike lane to Omaha when one finally came to Harney Street. Then she found out the two-mile stretch of road, which is common in most U.S. cities, wasn’t permanent and its future wasn’t in the city’s budget. To her, the whole fight — which includes firings, vetoes and city council members calling the police on their own public works department — says less about biking, and more about how decisions are made in Omaha.

This podcast was produced by Chris Bowling.

Music by Jon Rix (https://p0hk.bandcamp.com/)

Read Mode Shift Omaha’s history of the fight to get a bike lane in Omaha.

Read Sarah Johnson’s op-ed in NOISE.

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Chris has worked for The Reader since January 2020. As an investigative reporter and news editor he’s taken deep dives into topics such as police transparency, affordable housing and COVID-19. Originally...

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