Grow Omaha
Transportation
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Let’s Talk Streetcar Extensions: Examples from Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma
Now that I’m working as the City of Omaha’s Streetcar Operations Manager, a role where I will oversee the implementation of streetcar service for the Omaha Streetcar Authority, the focus of my Grow Omaha column will change. I’ll focus on news and information about Omaha’s rail and help readers understand how streetcars have impacted other cities and regions – along with ours – as we get closer to opening in 2028. This month, I’m sharing stories from a visit I took to the Pacific Northwest earlier this year, when I rode streetcars in Tacoma, Seattle and Portland. We can learn a lot by studying successful transit in other cities as we plan Omaha’s streetcar project. How have other cities approached extensions? How long does building an extension take? What neighborhoods do they serve and what are the impacts to development and transit ridership? Let’s take a closer look. There are 21 U.S. cities with streetcar systems (there are more if you count cities that have converted their...
Omaha-Lincoln Commuter Rail: What Would it Look Like and How to Get it Started?
The New Mexico Rail Runner at the Alvarado Transportation Center in Albuquerque, New MexicoA concept that is often talked about is a rail transit connection between Omaha and Lincoln. I hear this especially with the Omaha Streetcar project as some folks will say that we really need to look at connecting Omaha and Lincoln with a fast and more frequent transit option. Recall from my earlier article on transit technologies that the appropriate modes for transit between Omaha and Lincoln include commuter rail and intercity/regional bus, a service that provides more frequency than intercity passenger rail (think the current Amtrak California Zephyr, which is one trip a day in each direction). Regional or interregional bus service (connecting cities within a large region and/or multiple regions) provides more frequent service than intercity bus with stops that have good connections to existing transit, such as in Omaha and Lincoln. Commuter rail usually shares an existing freight railroad...
Multimodal Transportation Centers
Concept of a Multimodal Transportation Center at the Burlington StationAs cities increase the availability of transportation modes, especially transit and in downtown urban core settings, a common investment is the building of a multimodal transportation center. Such a facility is designed to connect multiple modes of transportation such as buses, trains, bicycles, and pedestrians into a convenient hub that promotes efficient transit. These facilities have been around U.S. cities for a long time, as the first railroad stations were in essence multimodal stations where local transit and intercity passenger rail connected. The concept saw a resurgence in the late 20th century as cities, seeing the effects of how freeways and parking lots gutted downtowns a few decades before, returned to a focus and prioritization on transit and active transportation modes that could promote more development and better land use. One of the earliest modern multimodal transportation centers that I...
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Metro Transit Demand Response Service
Demand Response Vehicle in Taos, New MexicoYou may have heard the buzz around town, there is a new transit technology about to drop in our city. I am actually not talking about the streetcar, but something called “Demand Response.” Also known as “Microtransit” or “On-Demand,” this type of transit, similar to the streetcar, is something that has actually been around for a long time. It’s just that this is the first time that it will be implemented by Omaha Metro Transit and packaged together with an efficient and reliable reservation and routing system. Before continuing on, let’s dig into what this transit service is exactly. Demand-response transit is a flexible, on-demand transportation service that provides “curb-to-curb” service based on passenger requests. While it sounds like a taxi service based on this description, what makes it transit is the ability to group similar rides to make the service more efficient. I like to tell people that it is similar to using an elevator at an...
Where Do Streetcar Vehicles Come From?
KC Streetcar CAF Vehicle in Operation in Kansas City Photo by Eric MillerPerhaps the most important element of a transit system is the vehicle. This is what people interact with the most when utilizing the service and it can make or break the system, made even more essential by the fact that vehicles can last upwards to 50 years before being fully retired. Vehicles are a very capital-intensive resource and take a long lead time to procure. And vehicles can be the face of the system, what people think of first when referring to a transit line. Therefore, it is imperative that the Omaha Streetcar vehicles are the best available, a great fit for our city, and will provide reliable service with a good impression on passengers for many years to come. This article will provide a lot of information on the current Omaha Streetcar vehicles that are being built, dig into the history of light rail/streetcar vehicles in general, and provide some information on rail cars that are built near...
History Repeating? Omaha Streetcars’ Past Connection to the Modern Project
O&CB 1025 westbound on Harney at 13th in 1951 – Richard OrrOne of my favorite lines from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is, “Can’t repeat the past? Why, of course you can!” Jay Gatsby wasn’t referring to streetcars when telling this to Nick Carraway, although I like to think of its use in urban development, where there are a lot of great city-planning concepts that are still in strong use today. This includes the streetcar, which is still a viable type of transit today. On the other side of the argument, some people may think the streetcar is outdated technology and was pushed out of service for a reason. This article intends to set the record straight and establish an understanding of why Omaha’s modern streetcar that is under construction now is both similar to the past while still being very different: this is no homage to the past. For a complete and thorough history of Omaha’s streetcar system, I highly recommend Richard Orr’s book, O&CB Streetcars of Omaha and...
Oklahoma City Streetcar in Focus
Oklahoma City StreetcarThe Oklahoma City Streetcar is another system I recently visited, and similar to the Washington DC streetcar that was featured in this column last year, offers some insights and lessons for Omaha. Of particular interest is the streetcar’s chosen route and the decision to charge fares. I was part of a peer review of the Oklahoma City Streetcar system last year when I spent a couple of days riding (and walking) the entire route several times. Our team came up with several suggestions to improve the system. The OKC Streetcar opened in December 2018 and has very similar operations as those planned for Omaha in terms of the number of stops, vehicles required to operate and length of the system. Some differences include routing with the additional loop train route and that it charges fares similar to the rest of the city’s transit system. First, a look at its routing, which appears to serve a lot of major destinations between downtown and midtown Oklahoma City. It is...
Omaha Streetcar Vehicle Maintenance Facility
Omaha Streetcar construction is essentially underway, although it is in the way of utility work and there has not yet been an official “groundbreaking” complete with the usual dignitaries posing at shovels. And you have probably noticed this utility work if you are ever along the streetcar line on Farnam or Harney between 39th and 10th Street.
Omaha Streetcar Extensions – Where to Next?
Picking up from one of my earlier articles, I would like to detail possibilities of extending the streetcar. Below is a map of the current system under construction, referred to as the “starter line,” the first line that provides a solid core from which to build. Let’s tackle the obvious question first: why expand the streetcar at all and why discuss expansions before we know how the streetcar will perform in terms of ridership and economic development? You are probably familiar with the cliched phrase, “if you build it, they will come,” which I like to say is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yes, if you build transportation infrastructure in an urban (or suburban) environment, people are likely to use it. Let’s caveat this with the importance of not only having people use the transportation infrastructure, but also having it be very successful, which means having a lot of people use it. It helps to expand a streetcar if it is very popular and it has a high amount of ridership as opposed...
The Regional Metropolitan Transit Authority and the New Elected Board of Director
You are probably aware that another election season is upon us, although what you may or may not realize is that there is an election for a completely new transit board of directors for the Omaha region. The Regional Metropolitan Transit Authority of Omaha, better known as Metro, is electing a board of directors for the first time ever. This seven-member body elected by citizens of the City of Omaha will replace the current Mayor-appointed (and City Council-approved) board of five members. The new board will take over in January 2025. How did this come to be? Anyone that has been following my previous articles will remember discussing the new regional transit authority that Metro is transitioning into. A regional transit authority with an elected board has been in discussion for many years. I remember bringing up this idea with Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers about 20 years ago, thinking that this would be a good way to introduce less politics into transit and get a board of...
Council Bluffs Linkages PEL Study – Revolutionizing How we Connect Omaha and Council Bluffs
The Council Bluffs Linkages PEL study started quietly earlier this year and is now off and running with the first public outreach event held last week and a public survey that will be available until October 25, 2024: https://fhu.mysocialpinpoint.com/council-bluffs-linkages Just what is a PEL, you ask? It stands for Planning and Environmental Linkages, which is a fancy phrase to say that it is the next step in a federal planning process to apply for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding for a capital project. Specifically, a PEL represents a collaborative and integrated approach to decision-making that considers environmental, community, and economic goals early in the transportation planning process and uses this information, analysis, and products developed during planning to inform the environmental review process. This study will allow Council Bluffs to move on to a formal environmental study. PELs are used for a variety of transportation projects including highways,...