Illegal dumping frustrates Omaha residents

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Illegal dumping is an ongoing crime in various parts of Omaha.

One homeowner says it’s so bad along his street that he often clears away trash just to leave home.

Though proud of his home, Rex Fuller lives on a stretch of Crown Point Avenue he says is no jewel of a city street, especially when heading to work past piles of junk illegally dumped.

“It’s very frustrating,” Rex said. “I guess it makes me mad too. I want people to stop doing what they’re doing but I need the road graded and a little bit of help cleaning things up.”

And the illegal dumping is not far from a city park that’s next to Crown Point Avenue.

“People just need to quit dumping and take the stuff to the recycling center or the landfill,” Rex said.

The city warns illegal dumpers will be prosecuted and a hidden camera may be set up in hopes of catching them in the act.

“A camera would be phenomenal because once the word got out, it would be the end of it,” Rex said.

That wouldn’t stop all of his mother’s concerns, though.

“It’s very frustrating for me because I don’t want to tear my car up, but I want to be able to visit my son,” Rex’s mother Maralene Klein said.

Rather than take the really rough part to the east, Maralene goes west, which is a much longer way to and from her son’s house.

That direction also means dodging numerous dips, a deep washout, and a raised manhole at the end of the substandard street.

The 84-year-old says she often has to split the difference when coming to visit her son. Between ruts on one side and trash piled up on the other, she can get through now, but it’s not always that way.

“Pretty soon it’s going to be four-wheel drive all the time,” Rex said.

After 6 News alerted the city engineer and he said the missed section of Crown Point Ave will be graded as soon as possible. A sewer division supervisor also says the raised manhole will be checked out to see if improvements can be made.

Crown Point Avenue in that location is considered a substandard street. Those are usually graded twice a year. As for the trash mess, 6 News reached out to the city officials, who plan to contact the owners of adjacent vacant lots about cleaning it up.

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