NEW Ideal Omaha Public Transportation Plan

[Busguy2010]

I know there's been many big dream style transportation maps in recent years that have gotten a lot of attention, but I set out to design a transportation plan that is based on our history, and the current bus system. Bear with me, folks, I know a lot of people will think it's hilarious that I call this a "realistic vision" but I call it that because it is based on our transit history, the current bus system, the current direction (ORBT), and I took cues from cities that have implemented train systems. I call it the most realistic shot at rail transit, however unrealistic it may be. But I'm going to try and get it on the minds of those who have the power to implement it. I worked on it over a very long period of time and I put plenty of detail into it, so please take a look and have fun.

[Doctor Fate]

I like this! Great work!

[nebraska]

Best addition: Maple & Center. It's odd how there isn't a route up/down Saddle Creek. When it comes to transport for the poorer, it's a damn shame the routes don't include where people actually go. Currently the only north/south route through the thick of town is bus #3. Maybe connect the West Center endpoint back up to Westroads using i680?

Most needed: Airport routes (and not 6 hours on weekdays). It's embarrassing for a city this size to not offer buses to downtown when the airport is only 3 miles away. When I fly out it's usually 5-6am flights but there are no buses! And I usually come back 10-11pm, again no buses! Get smaller shuttles like the hotels use and run a damn bus!

Light Rail: what's your idea for that look like? You seem to have them along the highways. Perhaps an elevated rail?

Commuter Rail: This is missing a West O to Lincoln connection. Who'd want to go to South Omaha to transfer back to West O or to head out to Lincoln?

On the whole, this is amazing. Great work.

[Busguy2010]

Maybe connect the West Center endpoint back up to Westroads using i680?

My thought on that was the Northwest/Southwest line would be the major north-south route and it would be redundant to run the center ORBT to Westroads when the light rail would do that more efficiently. On the other hand, I routed the Maple portion to Westroads because Maple is much closer to Westroads and I wouldn't want to make people transfer for only a mile long ride.

Most needed: Airport routes (and not 6 hours on weekdays). It's embarrassing for a city this size to not offer buses to downtown when the airport is only 3 miles away. When I fly out it's usually 5-6am flights but there are no buses! And I usually come back 10-11pm, again no buses! Get smaller shuttles like the hotels use and run a darn bus!

This is why I routed the light rail to the Airport. This would be a game changer since you can access the airport from any bus route in the city under my plan.

Light Rail: what's your idea for that look like? You seem to have them along the highways. Perhaps an elevated rail?

This has been my favorite part of the envisioning aspect. My old plans from 2011 had the routes elevated along Dodge and 13th all the way downtown. Since then, I had ridden many more light rail routes and realized just how loud light rail can be. I don't think light rail would be accepted in the heart of town for the sound pollution alone. So, I moved it to the interstates after many people suggested that would be a good idea. Hard part was finding a way to make that work with our current layout. This is the first time I laid out a rail system along with all the connecting bus routes, and this works quite well. Other considerations were based on existing systems, in particular, Denver's. They have a new route that is aligned in the middle of I-225, and that's how I envision this plan to be.

My absolute favorite part has been driving around town and envisioning sweeping light rail bridges intermingling with the exit ramps around Westroads and the location of the Westroads Station. Also, if you go east on I-80, as you go east of 42nd and down the hill, you can envision a bridge crossing over I-80 as the light rail goes from the interstate alignment to the railroad alignment. There would be some interesting weaving to be done around the Interchange in South Omaha

Commuter Rail: This is missing a West O to Lincoln connection. Who'd want to go to South Omaha to transfer back to West O or to head out to Lincoln?

My thoughts: It makes more sense for those riders to transfer to the Northwest/Southwest line, then transfer to their respective east-west bus route. Or, the reason I added route 21 is to get people from Gretna station to Village Pointe and the West line as quickly as possible. I just didn't think there would be enough people to add a dedicated BRT or light rail route. My only other thought was to add a commuter rail station at 144th, and run a regular bus up 144th, but those stations would be really close together for commuter rail, so I chose the spot closer to southport and all the jobs directly situated around there. Sorry, maybe you couldn't see the commuter rail station at I-80 and Giles. I layered the map so lhe light rail stations are situated as priority over the Commuter rail stations.

On the whole, this is amazing. Great work.

I appreciate it.

[nebraska]

Okay. Just trying to avoid a situation where people have to transfer. It really drains you. Below is what my commute looked like in New York for 5 years (don't get me started on my commute to Valley Stream...). Red = bus, green and purple = subways.

Thankfully NYC buses and subways use the same Metro Card, but not the Amtrak, NJ Transit, Path, or Metro North lines, or the ferries. Unthankfully, commuting takes forever. I travelled 70 minutes a day to go 13 miles! That's only 4x the speed of walking.

I'm sure that the kinks will work themselves out, especially once the usage numbers start coming in. Let's start building it and see...

[Busguy2010]

I'm sure that the kinks will work themselves out, especially once the usage numbers start coming in. Let's start building it and see...

I'm with you on that!

[Busguy2010]

Anybody know who best to contact about this?

[Bomaha]

Busguy2010....I would love to get together and hash out both of our plans.

[nebraska]

Anybody know who best to contact about this?

Rich people.

[GetUrban]

Anybody know who best to contact about this?

https://modeshiftomaha.org/about/about- ... ift-omaha/

[Garrett]

I know there's been many big dream style transportation maps in recent years that have gotten a lot of attention, but I set out to design a transportation plan that is based on our history, and the current bus system. Bear with me, folks, I know a lot of people will think it's hilarious that I call this a "realistic vision" but I call it that because it is based on our transit history, the current bus system, the current direction (ORBT), and I took cues from cities that have implemented train systems. I call it the most realistic shot at rail transit, however unrealistic it may be. But I'm going to try and get it on the minds of those who have the power to implement it. I worked on it over a very long period of time and I put plenty of detail into it, so please take a look and have fun.

OK, so a few critiques from a general lookover.

I don't get the point of the Council Bluffs Streetcar. It's fairly short and is just 1 line separate from all of the others, which means it would need a separate maintenance facility and crew. A lot of money for a really small line which would likely not see nearly as much ridership as the other Omaha lines.

I also think your rail routes would be better served going up and around 480 than right through downtown up 16th. I also don't entirely understand the need for a Northwest/Southwest line. I think it would be more effective to just have a transfer station at 108th where people could switch trains rather than having everyone in the Northwest portion of the branch need to switch trains, since more of them will be going downtown than southwest anyway.

For commuter rail, I would add a station in the 132nd Millard/L Street Market/Oak View area, and perhaps one in Valley as well, and MAYBE one in Waverly.

And then just in general, there needs to be a better connection to get over that hump from Westroads to Old Mill.

[Busguy2010]

OK, so a few critiques from a general lookover.

I don't get the point of the Council Bluffs Streetcar. It's fairly short and is just 1 line separate from all of the others, which means it would need a separate maintenance facility and crew. A lot of money for a really small line which would likely not see nearly as much ridership as the other Omaha lines.

I also think your rail routes would be better served going up and around 480 than right through downtown up 16th. I also don't entirely understand the need for a Northwest/Southwest line. I think it would be more effective to just have a transfer station at 108th where people could switch trains rather than having everyone in the Northwest portion of the branch need to switch trains, since more of them will be going downtown than southwest anyway.

For commuter rail, I would add a station in the 132nd Millard/L Street Market/Oak View area, and perhaps one in Valley as well, and MAYBE one in Waverly.

And then just in general, there needs to be a better connection to get over that hump from Westroads to Old Mill.

I've worked on it for well over a year or two and tweaked and scrapped parts of it many times over. Every part of my map involved a lot of consideration.

I put in the CB streetcar because I believe that would be a great boost for downtown CB. It wasn't intended to be part of the streetcar system, and would be a responsibility of CB.

I considered leaving out the northwest portion, but I felt it is an important connection for northwest Omaha. My main consideration is people and parts of town who use the existing bus system, and how they can better access the rest of the city. I had done a northwest to downtown route, but decided it looked silly since you could reach downtown by bus at a competitive rate to light rail. My bet is that more people originating from around Irvington would use transit to access the industrial and service jobs along the northwest/southwest, than those from west Fort to downtown. I think people in far northwest Omaha would be better served parking or riding a bus and transfering to the west line to get downtown. Like we said earlier, that could change as the numbers come in.

My millard area commuter rail station is at 132nd & Giles. I specifically left the very small towns out of the commuter rail lines. Valley was a consideration and possibly move the east Lincoln stop from 84th street to somewhere around where I-80 intersects US 6, based on Lincoln's future growth. I felt Valley was too small.

I think I have a fine connection between Old Mill and Westroads.

[Garrett]

OK, so a few critiques from a general lookover.

I don't get the point of the Council Bluffs Streetcar. It's fairly short and is just 1 line separate from all of the others, which means it would need a separate maintenance facility and crew. A lot of money for a really small line which would likely not see nearly as much ridership as the other Omaha lines.

I also think your rail routes would be better served going up and around 480 than right through downtown up 16th. I also don't entirely understand the need for a Northwest/Southwest line. I think it would be more effective to just have a transfer station at 108th where people could switch trains rather than having everyone in the Northwest portion of the branch need to switch trains, since more of them will be going downtown than southwest anyway.

For commuter rail, I would add a station in the 132nd Millard/L Street Market/Oak View area, and perhaps one in Valley as well, and MAYBE one in Waverly.

And then just in general, there needs to be a better connection to get over that hump from Westroads to Old Mill.

I've worked on it for well over a year or two and tweaked and scrapped parts of it many times over. Every part of my map involved a lot of consideration.

I put in the CB streetcar because I believe that would be a great boost for downtown CB. It wasn't intended to be part of the streetcar system, and would be a responsibility of CB.

I considered leaving out the northwest portion, but I felt it is an important connection for northwest Omaha. My main consideration is people and parts of town who use the existing bus system, and how they can better access the rest of the city. I had done a northwest to downtown route, but decided it looked silly since you could reach downtown by bus at a competitive rate to light rail. My bet is that more people originating from around Irvington would use transit to access the industrial and service jobs along the northwest/southwest, than those from west Fort to downtown. I think people in far northwest Omaha would be better served parking or riding a bus and transfering to the west line to get downtown. Like we said earlier, that could change as the numbers come in.

My millard area commuter rail station is at 132nd & Giles. I specifically left the very small towns out of the commuter rail lines. Valley was a consideration and possibly move the east Lincoln stop from 84th street to somewhere around where I-80 intersects US 6, based on Lincoln's future growth. I felt Valley was too small.

I think I have a fine connection between Old Mill and Westroads.

In the case of the commuter rail, why are there stops at Elkhorn then when there is one so close by at Village Pointe? Similarly, by the criteria you’re using, Ashland has a stop but isn’t that much bigger than Valley.

[Busguy2010]

In the case of the commuter rail, why are there stops at Elkhorn then when there is one so close by at Village Pointe? Similarly, by the criteria you’re using, Ashland has a stop but isn’t that much bigger than Valley.

I can see where I might have been confusing there. I didn't check populations or anything, so let me reword that... I feel Valley is too small for its proximity to other stops.

I chose Elkhorn because it's the last frontier of the city and has a significant population, and I had to put a stop at Village Pointe because that is a significant terminus. I didn't include Valley because, relatively speaking, it's close to town. The Fremont line is relatively short and I wanted to keep that route efficient.

The Lincoln route is long and it wouldn't be hurt by an extra stop quite like the Fremont line would. Because I put a stop in Ashland doesn't mean I should in Valley, just based on population. It's about the efficiency of the route and how often it would stop. That doesn't mean we wouldn't add a stop in Valley if the population one day warrants that drop in efficiency.

I chose Giles as the west Omaha station because it's ability to connect with my light rail system and its proximity to Southport. The bus routes should make selected trips to the Giles commuter rail station during the times of day when the train stops there.

You have me considering adding a commuter stop at 168th street on the Lincoln line and a bus route to connect to Lakeside, or just adding a bus route from Gretna station to the Lakeside area. But then again, this is speculative.