Omaha Warnings Or Dangers

Just west of the Downtown area, at Saddle Creek Road, Farnam Street appears to become a two-way street to the west, and one-way (westbound) to the east, with Harney Street as the opposite one-way.
This is a little misleading though, as Farnam is one of the few reversible streets in the country. Dodge may have its reversible lanes, but Farnam, at only two lanes, becomes entirely one-way at certain times on weekdays.
Monday thru Friday, 7am to 9am, Farnam becomes one-way toward the city (eastbound), while 4pm to 6pm, it becomes one-way away from the city (westbound). Other times on weekdays, and all day on weekends, the street is two-way. This configuration is from Saddle Creek Road, at the Nebraska Medical Center, until the street's western end at Dodge.
If you find yourself in this area, there are signs and lights warning you, but the GPS may mislead you (it's never on maps) or you may just outright miss it.

Omaha is NOT a dangerous city, but it's always smart to be cautious. The area with the worst reputation is North Omaha. It continues to have the highest concentration of violent crime year after year. This is, approximately, the area north of Dodge St and east of 72nd St - so the northeast corner of the city. There is no reason to avoid everything north of downtown, however. The area around Creighton University and the Qwest Center has some great shops and restaurants and is safer than the rest of North Omaha. Just use your common sense. I have been a student at Creighton for five years and have never had any trouble at all.

I live in the Benson area, which is considered North Omaha. You hear sirens daily, and there are quite a few shootings. But 99% of these acts are between rival gangs. There are certain areas to avoid, but for the most part, North Omaha is not as dangerous as most indicate.

I have lived in West Omaha. The 1 time I failed to take something of value out of my car, I remembered to go get it 3 hours later. Too late, already had a busted window.

I have been in North Omaha for 3 years now, and have never had any issue even once. Have been able to leave things in plain site, and out in the yard with no one touching any of it.

And to those who say Omahas crime rate is really high.... no, it really isn't. There are 40 other cities in the US that have larger populations, and a good portion of those have higher crime rates than Omaha. And plenty that are smaller with a higher rate. I have seen the trouble areas in cities like KC, Memphis, Newark and Chicago. Omaha does not compare. Don't listen to the ignorance of people who are going by here say.

http://www.morganquitno.com/cit04pop.htm - We don't even make the lists.

Omaha is overall a very safe city, but it has bad neighborhoods just like any other city.
Downtown has some crime but not as bad as the North or South. Youll see some graffiti and homeless people. Thats as bad as it is in Downtown Omaha. Downtown is a place for tourists and stays relatively safe because of it.
North of downtown is the Qwest Center and the airport also safe areas but if you get any more north of those areas, it is dangerous. Pretty much all of North Omaha is dangerous. my mother is a firefighter for the city and has the most calls when she works in North O. She gets no sleep at all when she works in the NOrth because of all the calls she gets. Northwest Omaha is not as bad as the rest of North Omaha though.
South Omaha is nowhere near as bad as North O. but there are some projects down there and it can get relatively dangerous. I wouldnt be as afraid to drive in South Omaha. I would never walk there though.
A final danger is Crossroads Mall on Dodge Street. The area around it is not bad at all but inside the mall, crime is bad. The big chain stores have moved out of the mall because of the crime that goes on there. If you want to go to a mall go west to Westroads Mall where there are tons of chain stores and it is much safer (even though one time a freak had a gun and shot a few people, that is the only time that has ever happened). Oakview mall is pretty far away from Dodge street but it is very safe.
hope it helps

I usually use Continental Airlines but this time my ticket had me routed through atlanta and i had the misfortune of flying Delta.. the agents had no clue what they were doing, and when we waited for long because of their imbecility they complained that they didnt have time enough.. also they were dresssed bady and in need of a shower. i felt i was in africa or some other very backward place
no more delta for me in Omaha
back to my favourite airline Continental

4 more images

THIS IS AN AREA to the north of downtown Omaha. Florence can be a little rough around the edges, so just use common sense and stay safe.

Here are some photos featuring murals seen in Florence.

There is an excellent museum of Mormon history in Florence. The Mormon pioneers made winter quarters here during their trek to Utah. There is still a Mormon cemetery in the area.

Omaha for the most part is relatively a safe city. However, there are certain neighborhoods to avoid at nighttime.

Benson: The area has some cool things, but it can get kind of shifty at nighttime and has been known for it's higher crime rate than the rest of the city.

North Omaha: A lot of boarded-up windows, bars over windows and decaying buildings. Crime is prominent in parts of this area.

Downtown outside of the Old Market: Very dead, dark and quiet. Try and stay in the Old Market area. Do not, I repeat, do not go on Leavenworth St. around 15-30th St. It has a very bad reputation and is consistently patroled by cops.

Heartland of America Park/Gene Leahy Mall: Early in the night it isn't bad, but later in the night it is known to get homeless people, beggars and sometimes vandals.

Some sections of Midtown: Dundee isn't a bad area at night, but venturing too far from it in the wrong directions can be dangerous.

Weather can be brutal sometimes, with tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and snow storms. Always be prepared for the worst.

On March 7, 2007, I called Happy Cab (owner of Yellow Cab) for a cab for a business meeting that was supposed to start at 4pm. The cab arrived on time but then would not start. The cab driver tried for 15 minutes to jump start it but finally I asked for another cab to be called. The next cab came 25 minutes later. I called the dispatcher and she was totally unable to explain why this took so long nor was she very sympathetic. The cab ride took 25 minutes and my fare was $38 dollars. I was finally able to get to my meeting one hour late (I had flown all the way from CA for this meeting) only to learn from my colleagues that had left from the same location one hour earlier that the correct taxi fare should have been $20 since it was only an 8 mile journey. My cab driver had taken the Interstate around the city rather than straight down Dodge....since I was out of town I had no idea I was literally being taken for a ride.

I called the dispatcher this evening and she hung up on me as well. When I called back, she told me to call the owners in the morning.

In talking to the hotel manager at Embassy Suites, he indicated that Happy Cab is a horrible cab outfit that should be avoided.

I would strongly urge anyone who values their time and money to avoid these con artists... I am going to see if I can report them to the Omaha Taxi Commission assuming they've got some type of regulations on this business.