Lincoln councilman, police chief hold tense town hall on O Street drag racing

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – City Councilman James Michael Bowers holds a meeting with his constituents every month, but for June, it was a little different.

Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins joined him Thursday to talk with the community about drag racing on O Street.

It’s become a bigger topic after two people were killed and 20 others injured when, authorities say, a man was speeding near 52nd and O Streets.

Dozens gathered at the Joyo Theater on Thursday evening in Havelock to voice their opinions, including Barb Bulow, who lives near O Street and said the noise is ridiculous.

She turns her TV volume up at night to go to bed, so she doesn’t hear the drag racers outside.

“You hear it when your window is closed, when you go to bed at night, anywhere from 10 to 2 in the morning,” he said. “It’s almost every day, probably 7 days a week. We all hear it.”

But others came to the meeting to listen and advocate for responsible racers.

Jim McNeil has a classic car he cruises O Street with.

He believes that the city needs to make a separate drag strip for those who want to race responsibly.

“We need to have somebody step up, let the city step up to help us put something together so the kids don’t use O Street,” he said. “They need to go someplace else like a drag strip. You see the people that want to race, they’re out there at Eagle.”

The town hall became a passionate and heated debate on what needs to be done.

Ewins said that this was the first step in a larger conversation but that no matter what, public safety is the No. 1 priority.

She said two young people lost their lives and it could have been avoided.

“And so, I try to remind everybody here that this is not about the ability to drag race or sideshow or anything like that,” Ewins said. “It’s really about people’s lives and quality of life.”

She said there are plans and ideas in the works to crack down on drag racers, but there is something you can do to help.

Ewins said to let the police know when you hear racing because officers aren’t always at the right place at the right time.

“Give us the information you have because sometimes we don’t know,” she said. “What happens in seconds, we can respond there, but they’re not going to be there.”