Omaha Streetcar Discussion

[Dusty]

Is the streetcar going to have a moniker like the BRT line does? Or will we always call it "the streetcar"?
BRT = ORBT
Streetcar = ?

I'm guessing in time they will rebrand the line as well. Farnan/Harney downtown Corridor is a mouthful. Maybe they will switch to colors like most cities use. (Blue line, Red line, etc.)

[TransitOriented]

Streetcar or Trolley are the two most common names, tram in other countries. If it goes to CB or Bellevue then it shouldn't have Omaha in the name. How about MetroLink? MetroLynk for the Pointe lovers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetcar ... th_America

[ita]

I like the conversation of a moniker for the streetcar route. I have zero good ideas for a name though; I'll leave that to you all.

Also, I found these maps marking possible stops, destinations, and parking along the route. Says it's current as of April 2023.

https://indd.adobe.com/view/6a0d73f7-05 ... fc4b6b5e4e

[Athomsfere]

Is the streetcar going to have a moniker like the BRT line does? Or will we always call it "the streetcar"?
BRT = ORBT
Streetcar = ?

I'm guessing in time they will rebrand the line as well. Farnan/Harney downtown Corridor is a mouthful. Maybe they will switch to colors like most cities use. (Blue line, Red line, etc.)

I wonder how ORBT will age once more routes are added.

Taking the ORBT is a really easy to describe it now. "Take the 5 to the ORBT 2" is a little weird, lol. But, I guess once the transit is actually good people will stop caring which type of bus it is.

I'm gonna throw out for names:

OTRLY, pronounced O' Trolley. As in, "O'Trolley where art though?".

[almighty_tuna]

The Linehan Express

[Dusty]

I would probably stay away from using Trolley. It would hurt Ollie the Trolley's feelings. Telling that bus it's not really a trolley would crush it's spirits! HA!

I don't want to see it named after any people or corporate sponsored. So... No Stothert Express. No Linehan Express. No Berkshire Hathaway Railway.

Let's face it. It's going to be a slow moving train. I will jokingly call it "The Snail Rail"

[Athomsfere]

The Linehan Express

Oh geez. Why? To rub her nose in what success looks like?

[MTO]

ORbital GAS-less Mobility

[TransitOriented]

The Linehan Express

Nothing express about it

ORbital GAS-less Mobility

Omahans
Responsibly
Getting
Around
Sh1tfaced
Merrily

[ProgKingHughesker]

I like the conversation of a moniker for the streetcar route. I have zero good ideas for a name though; I'll leave that to you all.

Also, I found these maps marking possible stops, destinations, and parking along the route. Says it's current as of April 2023.

https://indd.adobe.com/view/6a0d73f7-05 ... fc4b6b5e4e

Needs another stop northbound on 10th at Dodge or Capitol, otherwise looks good

[skinzfan23]

There is a stop right near 10th and Capitol. Right near the sidewalk leading to CHI

[thenewguy]

honestly, that route looks really good. With the exception of zoo/airport (which you could get to via bus), it really covers a very large portion of the main attractions downtown. The only hiccup i see is that people are going to |expletive| when it doesn't drop them off right at the front door of wherever it is they are going.

[TransitOriented]

honestly, that route looks really good. With the exception of airport (which you could get to via bus),

Airport is only available weekdays between 6am-8:30am and 4pm-6:30pm.

[thenewguy]

well that sucks.

[ProgKingHughesker]

There is a stop right near 10th and Capitol. Right near the sidewalk leading to CHI

Ah I interpreted it as being a little farther east on Capitol and only when coming back from the north terminus (so folks going from Blackstone to the Capitol District would have to ride it to the CHI and then back to Capitol)

[ita]

Pottawattamie County supervisors to hear streetcar presentation

Gina Dvorak
The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors is slated to hear a presentation on the Omaha streetcar at its meeting Tuesday morning.

Council Bluffs officials are planning to share information about a possible extension of the streetcar into its neighboring city. At this time, the city is only studying the potential for a continuation of the planned light rail route.

The supervisors will begin their regular meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The meetings can be viewed on the county’s YouTube channel.

Tuesday’s presentation will be given by Brandon Garrett, chief of staff for the City of Council Bluffs.

[Garrett]

Working on a project on the streetcar and found this little archival website with little blurbs from over the years. Wild to see the first Engineering study was completed in 1996.

http://www.heritagetrolley.org/planOmahaNE.htm

[almighty_tuna]

Working on a project on the streetcar and found this little archival website with little blurbs from over the years. Wild to see the first Engineering study was completed in 1996.

http://www.heritagetrolley.org/planOmahaNE.htm

With a link to Omaha Streetcar no less! Ahh, back in the day...

[Coyote]

Council Bluffs officials to discuss expanding streetcar route

[thenewguy]

being a council bluffs resident, I think this is exciting. If it were to utilize the 1st avenue corridor (which is currently a very nice paved trail), it would appear that there would be limited interruption to traffic. There is also a ton of available land along the route that could be developed/redeveloped.

[almighty_tuna]

It really is an exciting thought that, despite odds to the contrary, this could be a real streetcar oriented, dense linear development where the main modes of transportation are train/trail instead of traditional surface lots and wasted space.

[Garrett]

being a council bluffs resident, I think this is exciting. If it were to utilize the 1st avenue corridor (which is currently a very nice paved trail), it would appear that there would be limited interruption to traffic. There is also a ton of available land along the route that could be developed/redeveloped.

Yeah the Council Bluffs section is extremely exciting. I talked to Brandon Garrett a couple months ago and he said that Council Bluffs wants to add 50,000 residents along the corridor, which would be a massive transformation for the city.

[Athomsfere]

being a council bluffs resident, I think this is exciting. If it were to utilize the 1st avenue corridor (which is currently a very nice paved trail), it would appear that there would be limited interruption to traffic. There is also a ton of available land along the route that could be developed/redeveloped.

Yeah the Council Bluffs section is extremely exciting. I talked to Brandon Garrett a couple months ago and he said that Council Bluffs wants to add 50,000 residents along the corridor, which would be a massive transformation for the city.

I think we were chatting about that sometime ago. But it's a doubling (nearly) in 30 years. I think you had the download on it, and it was great!

Honestly, and I've said before: Council Bluffs might turn out to be one of the top areas to live in the metro, and really the midwest.

[skinzfan23]

I would really love to see it, but that would be very hard to maintain that growth, especially for CB. There are a ton of people from Omaha that have a big stigma about CB and I just don't see that kind of growth unless a bunch of people from Omaha move there. Sure, the re-development of Dodge-Riverside golf course will help, but for a city that has only grown 6,000 people since 1960, this doesn't seem attainable.

[ita]

I just watched the presentation at the county board meeting. Nothing new really, but there were no voices of opposition. Those members who spoke are just as intrigued at the prospects it brings as those in the CB leadership. Brandon did mention that the CB route would come in phases. I am imagining the first phase to be the multimodal bridge to NP Dodge Golf Course. That's a decent chunk of change of $100M to get done. Then Phase 2 would be to the viaduct. Phase 3 to the CHI Health Mercy Hospital.

If the goal is adding 50k along the route, that's something like 30k housing units. One of the issues I've seen for CB is the lack of housing development, urban and suburban, and from the presentation they are really interested in being able to provide housing along the multimodal route. They can create something really neat with First Ave and NP Dodge Park.

A couple interesting comments include someone from the board mentioning bringing hotels to the 100 block area, I think he said 5 star. Another was the potential of redeveloping the Omni Center. Anyway, CB has potential and I am really wanting them to succeed on their streetcar goals.

[skinzfan23]

That would be great to see some more development along the corridor. There is definitely some open space along 2nd Ave. and also the hotels near the 100 block, would be great.

[damonhynes]

honestly, that route looks really good. With the exception of zoo/airport (which you could get to via bus),

"Mrs. Lincoln, otherwise, did you enjoy the play?" One demographic is happy with the line stopping North Omaha another
demographic wants to be let off at the terminal or TAC Air.

The first has no use for a line to the airport, the second does not consider mass transit and never will.

I'll admit, I was all for running a line either along Abbott or around the north side of Carter Lake, but the more I considered other airports(STL ATL DFW) I could make the case that the only people who take mass transit to the airport are those who work at the airport.

[damonhynes]

I would really love to see it, but that would be very hard to maintain that growth, especially for CB. There are a ton of people from Omaha that have a big stigma about CB and I just don't see that kind of growth unless a bunch of people from Omaha move there. Sure, the re-development of Dodge-Riverside golf course will help, but for a city that has only grown 6,000 people since 1960, this doesn't seem attainable.

I think Carter Lake has been destigmatized (to my surprise) and looking at southeast CB (Lake Manawa/Lewis Central) one could make the case that CB has as well.

[Athomsfere]

I would really love to see it, but that would be very hard to maintain that growth, especially for CB. There are a ton of people from Omaha that have a big stigma about CB and I just don't see that kind of growth unless a bunch of people from Omaha move there. Sure, the re-development of Dodge-Riverside golf course will help, but for a city that has only grown 6,000 people since 1960, this doesn't seem attainable.

I also think about half our growth is from inflow / immigration. If you're relocating from Houston, and see great places to live and a streetcar to get to everything fun. Why wouldn't you pick CB?

Of CBs cited expectation of up to 500k in 30 years for the metro: That's only 10% of the growth that would need to pick CB. If the core can also grow 30k, it makes that choice even easier IMO.

[Athomsfere]

honestly, that route looks really good. With the exception of zoo/airport (which you could get to via bus),

I'll admit, I was all for running a line either along Abbott or around the north side of Carter Lake, but the more I considered other airports(STL ATL DFW) I could make the case that the only people who take mass transit to the airport are those who work at the airport.

None of those cities are exceptionally well built. Atlanta maybe being the most "on a path for OK transit someday".

I know when I fly to a real city, I tend to use the transit from the airport. One of the reasons I choose Seattle so often. It's so easy to only use transit there

[Dusty]

I know when I fly to a real city, I tend to use the transit from the airport. One of the reasons I choose Seattle so often. It's so easy to only use transit there

Building a strong network of transit to get around locally is key. We are working in the right direction. This brings me back to an idea I brought up a while ago.

My dream project is to build a large mixed use transit center over I-480. Put caps over the bridges and span the transit center from Harney to Dodge. This station would be a hub for BRT, streetcar, standard bus lines, and future expansions.
From there you can add a route from the station along 75 North to the airport. (stops on Lake and Ames)
You can add a Leavenworth/Cuming streetcar circular. If you really want to go crazy, you can add high speed regional rail out of the station. At minimum, create a major hub for local modes to all intersect.

In theory, you can jump on BRT in West Omaha. Jump off at 480 station and ride the line to the airport without using a car. The same would work in reverse for visitors to Omaha.

[Louie]

I know when I fly to a real city, I tend to use the transit from the airport. One of the reasons I choose Seattle so often. It's so easy to only use transit there

Building a strong network of transit to get around locally is key. We are working in the right direction. This brings me back to an idea I brought up a while ago.

My dream project is to build a large mixed use transit center over I-480. Put caps over the bridges and span the transit center from Harney to Dodge. This station would be a hub for BRT, streetcar, standard bus lines, and future expansions.
From there you can add a route from the station along 75 North to the airport. (stops on Lake and Ames)
You can add a Leavenworth/Cuming streetcar circular. If you really want to go crazy, you can add high speed regional rail out of the station. At minimum, create a major hub for local modes to all intersect.

In theory, you can jump on BRT in West Omaha. Jump off at 480 station and ride the line to the airport without using a car. The same would work in reverse for visitors to Omaha.

Yeah. Thats a cool idea.

[Dusty]

My dream project is to build a large mixed use transit center over I-480. Put caps over the bridges and span the transit center from Harney to Dodge. This station would be a hub for BRT, streetcar, standard bus lines, and future expansions.
From there you can add a route from the station along 75 North to the airport. (stops on Lake and Ames)
You can add a Leavenworth/Cuming streetcar circular. If you really want to go crazy, you can add high speed regional rail out of the station. At minimum, create a major hub for local modes to all intersect.

In theory, you can jump on BRT in West Omaha. Jump off at 480 station and ride the line to the airport without using a car. The same would work in reverse for visitors to Omaha.

Yeah. Thats a cool idea.

Yes, it would be a game changer on how people view transit in Omaha. You would basically be building a long skinny terminal. Street level would be for boarding and a second story would house gift shop, coffee shop, snacks, etc. Basically, a welcome center with brochures on what to do in Omaha. Digital kiosks with maps to show you different modes to take and how to connect from there.

Part 2 of my dream plan is fill the rest of 480 with water and develop along both sides. Create a small version of San Antonio's riverwalk. If you want to keep the car lanes, then build a tunnel for traffic to pass through underneath and build a shallow canal on top. I believe a grand central station and riverwalk along 480 would push Omaha into a "real city" status.

The streetcar is stage 1. Once people ride and understand the excitement, it will set the stage for bigger expansion plans.

[Athomsfere]

I know when I fly to a real city, I tend to use the transit from the airport. One of the reasons I choose Seattle so often. It's so easy to only use transit there

Building a strong network of transit to get around locally is key. We are working in the right direction. This brings me back to an idea I brought up a while ago.

My dream project is to build a large mixed use transit center over I-480. Put caps over the bridges and span the transit center from Harney to Dodge. This station would be a hub for BRT, streetcar, standard bus lines, and future expansions.
From there you can add a route from the station along 75 North to the airport. (stops on Lake and Ames)
You can add a Leavenworth/Cuming streetcar circular. If you really want to go crazy, you can add high speed regional rail out of the station. At minimum, create a major hub for local modes to all intersect.

In theory, you can jump on BRT in West Omaha. Jump off at 480 station and ride the line to the airport without using a car. The same would work in reverse for visitors to Omaha.

Yeah. Thats a cool idea.

As long as we don't build park and rides, I'm all for it.

Additionally. I think if we took the center swing lane on dodge, we could build an elevated train there, with double tracks. No idea how we'd do the stops though.

[thenewguy]

I know when I fly to a real city, I tend to use the transit from the airport. One of the reasons I choose Seattle so often. It's so easy to only use transit there

Building a strong network of transit to get around locally is key. We are working in the right direction. This brings me back to an idea I brought up a while ago.

My dream project is to build a large mixed use transit center over I-480. Put caps over the bridges and span the transit center from Harney to Dodge. This station would be a hub for BRT, streetcar, standard bus lines, and future expansions.
From there you can add a route from the station along 75 North to the airport. (stops on Lake and Ames)
You can add a Leavenworth/Cuming streetcar circular. If you really want to go crazy, you can add high speed regional rail out of the station. At minimum, create a major hub for local modes to all intersect.

In theory, you can jump on BRT in West Omaha. Jump off at 480 station and ride the line to the airport without using a car. The same would work in reverse for visitors to Omaha.

that's a very intriguing idea...

[Louie]

My dream project is to build a large mixed use transit center over I-480. Put caps over the bridges and span the transit center from Harney to Dodge. This station would be a hub for BRT, streetcar, standard bus lines, and future expansions.
From there you can add a route from the station along 75 North to the airport. (stops on Lake and Ames)
You can add a Leavenworth/Cuming streetcar circular. If you really want to go crazy, you can add high speed regional rail out of the station. At minimum, create a major hub for local modes to all intersect.

In theory, you can jump on BRT in West Omaha. Jump off at 480 station and ride the line to the airport without using a car. The same would work in reverse for visitors to Omaha.

Yeah. Thats a cool idea.

Yes, it would be a game changer on how people view transit in Omaha. You would basically be building a long skinny terminal. Street level would be for boarding and a second story would house gift shop, coffee shop, snacks, etc. Basically, a welcome center with brochures on what to do in Omaha. Digital kiosks with maps to show you different modes to take and how to connect from there.

Part 2 of my dream plan is fill the rest of 480 with water and develop along both sides. Create a small version of San Antonio's riverwalk. If you want to keep the car lanes, then build a tunnel for traffic to pass through underneath and build a shallow canal on top. I believe a grand central station and riverwalk along 480 would push Omaha into a "real city" status.

The streetcar is stage 1. Once people ride and understand the excitement, it will set the stage for bigger expansion plans.

Just for my own understanding, where exactly would the riverwalk run?

[TransitOriented]

Additionally. I think if we took the center swing lane on dodge, we could build an elevated train there, with double tracks. No idea how we'd do the stops though.

What? The stations are elevated as well, just like every other city/country that does this. Look at Chicago

[ita]

I would really love to see it, but that would be very hard to maintain that growth, especially for CB. There are a ton of people from Omaha that have a big stigma about CB and I just don't see that kind of growth unless a bunch of people from Omaha move there. Sure, the re-development of Dodge-Riverside golf course will help, but for a city that has only grown 6,000 people since 1960, this doesn't seem attainable.

I also think about half our growth is from inflow / immigration. If you're relocating from Houston, and see great places to live and a streetcar to get to everything fun. Why wouldn't you pick CB?

Of CBs cited expectation of up to 500k in 30 years for the metro: That's only 10% of the growth that would need to pick CB. If the core can also grow 30k, it makes that choice even easier IMO.

Yeah, I think the catchment for the projected 500k population growth in 30 years will be lots of people who don't know squat about the stigma with CB. Having said that, people who might want to move here look to places like Reddit or people like realtors who currently perpetuate the stigma against CB and even east Omaha. That's a problem that I hope will change as we continue to see significant changes in the Core. I could see people's minds being changed if NP Dodge Golf Course starts transforming into a mid/high rise laden riverside, walkable community or all along First Ave apartments and townhomes start coming up.

Try to imagine 50k on the CB side and 30k in the urban core 30 years from now. That's like 50k residential units? That would make the corridor unrecognizable for the better. I think CB could build more family friendly housing and could really boost their numbers that way. In my layman's opinion, CB has lots of potential with the streetcar, so kudos for them for seemingly going all in on it.

Also, something I've been thinking about the last couple days, it's interesting there isn't any one, at least in the news, putting up a stink that CB is trying to get the streetcar over the River.

[Dusty]

Part 2 of my dream plan is fill the rest of 480 with water and develop along both sides. Create a small version of San Antonio's riverwalk. If you want to keep the car lanes, then build a tunnel for traffic to pass through underneath and build a shallow canal on top. I believe a grand central station and riverwalk along 480 would push Omaha into a "real city" status.

Just for my own understanding, where exactly would the riverwalk run?

I would run the riverwalk from Martha to Harney (1.2 miles long). Then the transit center from Harney to Dodge.

No park and rides! The point is to strengthen the network of transit. Ride the bus from West Omaha to 480 Depot.
Now I can switch modes: ride the streetcar to downtown, ride a line to airport via 75 North, ride a line to South Omaha/Bellevue via 75 South, or I can walk the riverwalk right next to it.

Lots of options to get around and have fun without a car.

[TransitOriented]

No park and rides! The point is to strengthen the network of transit. Ride the bus from West Omaha to 480 Depot.

How does a person from another town get to West Omaha and what do they do with their car? There's quite a few people that do not live in Omaha but they do drive into work in Omaha. I think a Park N Ride around 210th-220th street would help them.