Omaha Streetcar Discussion

[riceweb]

The outrage gap between her and Debrina Kawam was pretty striking, too.

This is mostly attributable to the availability of the video IMO and the fact that it was in Charlotte, which most people code as a "safe" city, meaning that if it could happen in Charlotte, it could happen anywhere.

People went bonkers over an illegal immigrant setting someone on fire on a subway, then suddenly silent when they realized they were going to have to pretend to care about homeless people.

That seems like a non-sequitur? Many people think transit in the US is a total horror show. Smell of pee, smell of marijuana, homeless asleep/passed out, crowding, bullying, violence.... if you give me a Taipei metro system with strictly enforced social rules I'd be much more likely to use US transit systems. So in addition to US transit systems being slower than a vehicle many times, the overall experience is also quite poor. That's why I think the Boring Company approach of private vehicles is the dynamite disruptive innovation. You will ultimately have no driver in the car with you that you need to awkwardly try to chit-chat with (or sit in silence with), you aren't sharing the space with anyone, and the cost to build the tunnels is so low that they can deliver nearly last-mile access, even way out in the suburbs. It has scale challenges, but that's not a concern to the marketplace / end consumers, it's only a concern for city planners.

[nebport5]

A person could just as well be accosted by a street thug between the parking garage and the restaurant they're going to. But they're only concerned when it happens on a train rather than on a sidewalk.

And yet too many people are more afraid of not making it through the intersection(thus running a red light) or god forbid having another car in front of you.

[nebport5]

The outrage gap between her and Debrina Kawam was pretty striking, too.

This is mostly attributable to the availability of the video IMO and the fact that it was in Charlotte, which most people code as a "safe" city, meaning that if it could happen in Charlotte, it could happen anywhere.

People went bonkers over an illegal immigrant setting someone on fire on a subway, then suddenly silent when they realized they were going to have to pretend to care about homeless people.

That seems like a non-sequitur? Many people think transit in the US is a total horror show. Smell of pee, smell of marijuana, homeless asleep/passed out, crowding, bullying, violence.... if you give me a Taipei metro system with strictly enforced social rules I'd be much more likely to use US transit systems. So in addition to US transit systems being slower than a vehicle many times, the overall experience is also quite poor. That's why I think the Boring Company approach of private vehicles is the dynamite disruptive innovation. You will ultimately have no driver in the car with you that you need to awkwardly try to chit-chat with (or sit in silence with), you aren't sharing the space with anyone, and the cost to build the tunnels is so low that they can deliver nearly last-mile access, even way out in the suburbs. It has scale challenges, but that's not a concern to the marketplace / end consumers, it's only a concern for city planners.

Where in the h e l l are you getting tunnel building is low cost!?

Also wait till the first AI transit is hacked by terrorists.

[riceweb]

Where in the h e l l are you getting tunnel building is low cost!?

The Nashville system is 10 miles, with 20 stations, for around $240m. The Vegas loop cost around $50m with 8 stops. They're very narrow tunnels, but the assertion is that tunnel costs increase exponentially as their diameters increase, so they're focusing on narrow tunnels and re-use of equipment as their disruptive innovation. They can also build these quickly.

https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/09/30 ... 0-million/

EDIT: from the Boring Company FAQ for the project (https://www.boringcompany.com/music-city-loop):

How is the Loop different from a subway?
Music City Loop will be an express public transportation system that resembles an underground highway more than a subway system. If a subway line had 100 stops, a train would typically stop at each station, so the journey between Station 1 and Station 100 would be long. In contrast, Loop passengers travel directly to their destination, anywhere between Station 1 to Station 100, without stopping at the intermediate stations. Thus, the express system allows Loop vehicles to have faster transit times and shorter wait times than conventional subway cars. Loop also allows the construction of many more stations along the alignment, as the stations are approximately 100x less expensive to build and, unlike a subway, the addition of an intermediate station does not result in slower transit times or increased wait times.

[locoluke]

Where in the h e l l are you getting tunnel building is low cost!?

The Nashville system is 10 miles, with 20 stations, for around $240m. The Vegas loop cost around $50m with 8 stops. They're very narrow tunnels, but the assertion is that tunnel costs increase exponentially as their diameters increase, so they're focusing on narrow tunnels and re-use of equipment as their disruptive innovation. They can also build these quickly.

https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/09/30 ... 0-million/

EDIT: from the Boring Company FAQ for the project (https://www.boringcompany.com/music-city-loop):

How is the Loop different from a subway?
Music City Loop will be an express public transportation system that resembles an underground highway more than a subway system. If a subway line had 100 stops, a train would typically stop at each station, so the journey between Station 1 and Station 100 would be long. In contrast, Loop passengers travel directly to their destination, anywhere between Station 1 to Station 100, without stopping at the intermediate stations. Thus, the express system allows Loop vehicles to have faster transit times and shorter wait times than conventional subway cars. Loop also allows the construction of many more stations along the alignment, as the stations are approximately 100x less expensive to build and, unlike a subway, the addition of an intermediate station does not result in slower transit times or increased wait times.

This just sounds like the Morgantown PRT system but underground.

[riceweb]

This just sounds like the Morgantown PRT system but underground.

All of these systems are just solutions along different spectrums (speed, frequency, how big each car is, length of the system, grade separation, etc.). There are baseline assumptions about costs which tend to favor certain solutions over others, but if the baseline assumptions change, then the choice in the system can change as well.

As the cost of drivers appraoches -> 0, the number of cars can be increased.
As the size of the car decreases and complexity of the stations decreases, you can use more off-the-shelf components rather than bespoke vehicles.
As the size of the car decreases, you can add more exits/entrances for more individualized stations.
As the cost of tunnels decreases, you can build more tunnels.

I don't think these Boring Company systems will have much of a place in Europe or Asia, but in the US, which is rich, extremely suburban/decentralized, and economically unequal, they are a potentially great fit. The first rule of business is to know your customer, to know the "Job To Be Done", and the Boring Company has a great sense of their customers' needs.

[Garrett]

This is mostly attributable to the availability of the video IMO and the fact that it was in Charlotte, which most people code as a "safe" city, meaning that if it could happen in Charlotte, it could happen anywhere.

Bullshit. Videos of Debrina Kawam, Michelle Go, and a bunch of other heinous murders are out there, and were spread around. Furthermore, ask yourself, why do people code Charlotte as a safe city, while it has more than double the murder rate of a "hellhole" like NYC?

That seems like a non-sequitur? Many people think transit in the US is a total horror show. Smell of pee, smell of marijuana, homeless asleep/passed out, crowding, bullying, violence.... if you give me a Taipei metro system with strictly enforced social rules I'd be much more likely to use US transit systems. So in addition to US transit systems being slower than a vehicle many times, the overall experience is also quite poor. That's why I think the Boring Company approach of private vehicles is the dynamite disruptive innovation. You will ultimately have no driver in the car with you that you need to awkwardly try to chit-chat with (or sit in silence with), you aren't sharing the space with anyone, and the cost to build the tunnels is so low that they can deliver nearly last-mile access, even way out in the suburbs. It has scale challenges, but that's not a concern to the marketplace / end consumers, it's only a concern for city planners.

I ride the New York City subway daily, on a range of cars from old to brand spanking new, and it rarely has full blown issues. Smells happen sometimes, but rarely, and it's almost never the smell of pee or marijuana. heck, from the accounts of posters on this forum, you can be subjected to the smell of marijuana just driving around the streets of Omaha. Crowding? Sure, during parts of rush hour, but I'm almost always able to get a seat by half way through my 30 minute subway ride at peak times if I don't manage to get one immediately. Bullying? Violence? I've never seen that in my 7 years living her All of these perceptions are just that, perceptions, because the US has stigmatized transit as being a thing for the poors, and boy, do we hate the poors.

[riceweb]

And in Seattle I had a very different experience while I lived there. I’m glad your experience in NYC is fine, but it’s not universal.

[stadsborgare]

Private vehicle owners fail to see how the streetcar benefits them, too. They don't have to ever even use the streetcar and they will benefit from a streetcar being there.

For every person using the streetcar, that is one less person driving their own car. Multiply numbers and that's less cars on the street, and therefore less congestion.

If a person living in midtown has to visit the courthouse, and he uses the streetcar to get there, he is not looking for a parking spot in the garage there, and that opens up a spot for the west Omahan who has to visit the courthouse.

If I go to a College World Series game and park in a garage on 23rd & Farnam and take a streetcar the rest of the way, I'm not looking for a parking spot outside the stadium, so that makes it easier for those looking for a spot by the stadium to find one.

You can be a neurotic all you want and drive in the safety of your private vehicle and be able to get around easier because all those other yahoos are using the streetcar.

Imagine if NYC didn't have the subway. Then so many more multitudes would be trying to drive their own cars across town and it would be like....Mumbai.

[riceweb]

Private vehicle owners fail to see how the streetcar benefits them, too.

I'm not arguing that some people won't ride the streetcar. I'm arguing it's an inefficient way to achieve moving some people off the road at a time that we're on the cusp of a major revolution in transit. Building this *now* at least 10 or 20 years too late is questionable. I was a streetcar advocate for years, but now it feels like we're getting fleeced because the developers felt it was the last chance they could conceivably use their political capital and make some money before autonomous vehicles completely reshape transportation of all sorts (it became a "now or never" situation). The streetcar would have been better to build back in 2015 or 2010 or earlier.

I still don't understand how they couldn't make the streetcar work when there was Federal money of all sorts for projects like this back in the Obama era?

[Garrett]

Private vehicle owners fail to see how the streetcar benefits them, too.

I'm not arguing that some people won't ride the streetcar. I'm arguing it's an inefficient way to achieve moving some people off the road at a time that we're on the cusp of a major revolution in transit. Building this *now* at least 10 or 20 years too late is questionable. I was a streetcar advocate for years, but now it feels like we're getting fleeced because the developers felt it was the last chance they could conceivably use their political capital and make some money before autonomous vehicles completely reshape transportation of all sorts (it became a "now or never" situation). The streetcar would have been better to build back in 2015 or 2010 or earlier.

I still don't understand how they couldn't make the streetcar work when there was Federal money of all sorts for projects like this back in the Obama era?

How long have we delayed building high speed rail on the promise of a maglev, or hyper loop, or whatever the gadgetbahn of the day is? We have solutions that work today. I'm not interested in hypotheticals that delay reality.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Private vehicle owners fail to see how the streetcar benefits them, too.

I'm not arguing that some people won't ride the streetcar. I'm arguing it's an inefficient way to achieve moving some people off the road at a time that we're on the cusp of a major revolution in transit. Building this *now* at least 10 or 20 years too late is questionable. I was a streetcar advocate for years, but now it feels like we're getting fleeced because the developers felt it was the last chance they could conceivably use their political capital and make some money before autonomous vehicles completely reshape transportation of all sorts (it became a "now or never" situation). The streetcar would have been better to build back in 2015 or 2010 or earlier.

I still don't understand how they couldn't make the streetcar work when there was Federal money of all sorts for projects like this back in the Obama era?

We are absolutely on no cusp of any transit revolution. Everything being sold as revolutionary right now either creates more problems than solutions or won't come close to its full potential in America until we stop placing the car at the top of the transportation hierarchy.

[riceweb]

We are absolutely on no cusp of any transit revolution. Everything being sold as revolutionary right now either creates more problems than solutions or won't come close to its full potential in America until we stop placing the car at the top of the transportation hierarchy.

Well, I mean, I agree, most things like self-driving cars are likely to exacerbate traffic issues and further push people away from transit. My point is that revolutionary things are happening, and it's actually quite possible our streetcar investment will be fruitless at this juncture.

[nebport5]

Where in the h e l l are you getting tunnel building is low cost!?

The Nashville system is 10 miles, with 20 stations, for around $240m. The Vegas loop cost around $50m with 8 stops. They're very narrow tunnels, but the assertion is that tunnel costs increase exponentially as their diameters increase, so they're focusing on narrow tunnels and re-use of equipment as their disruptive innovation. They can also build these quickly.

https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/09/30 ... 0-million/

EDIT: from the Boring Company FAQ for the project (https://www.boringcompany.com/music-city-loop):

How is the Loop different from a subway?
Music City Loop will be an express public transportation system that resembles an underground highway more than a subway system. If a subway line had 100 stops, a train would typically stop at each station, so the journey between Station 1 and Station 100 would be long. In contrast, Loop passengers travel directly to their destination, anywhere between Station 1 to Station 100, without stopping at the intermediate stations. Thus, the express system allows Loop vehicles to have faster transit times and shorter wait times than conventional subway cars. Loop also allows the construction of many more stations along the alignment, as the stations are approximately 100x less expensive to build and, unlike a subway, the addition of an intermediate station does not result in slower transit times or increased wait times.

I can appreciate your desire for reducing the infrastructure costs of building mass transit. The hidden costs and success of Boring remain to be seen long term. Getting fine 100,000 by OSHA makes the Vegas loop sound like the Cyber Truck of transit. Color me skeptical of the Nashville route costs with Boring’s flippant talk toward the bedrock, the water table and particularly safety. The Boring Co. or Acme Tunneling?

[locoluke]

We are absolutely on no cusp of any transit revolution. Everything being sold as revolutionary right now either creates more problems than solutions or won't come close to its full potential in America until we stop placing the car at the top of the transportation hierarchy.

Well, I mean, I agree, most things like self-driving cars are likely to exacerbate traffic issues and further push people away from transit. My point is that revolutionary things are happening, and it's actually quite possible our streetcar investment will be fruitless at this juncture.

I'm a little hesitant to say that the streetcar is going to be fruitless at this juncture.

Let's just look at ridership numbers and compare it to San Fransisco Muni's ridership (It may take a couple of seconds for the linked graph to load). I will admit that San Fransisco is several orders of magnitude more transit-friendly than Omaha, but it's also Waymo's strongest market by volume. The most recent number I can find showed 101k weekly Waymo rides in San Fransisco. I didn't crunch the numbers very hard so I may be a little off, but there are seven individual bus routes, 1, 8, 14, 22, 29, 38, and 49, that clear 101k weekly riders and three light rail lines, M, N, and T, that do as well.

Now, I don't expect the streetcar to get anywhere near 101k riders/week. If we can approach the KC starter lines ~35k riders/week, I would consider that a success. All this focus on ridership is also completely ignoring the real main reason for building a streetcar line.

I know many of you, including myself, grumble at this fact, but the main reason for the streetcar is to stimulate property development along the route. It does this by having permanent physical infrastructure that serves as a promise to developer's that the streetcar is here and will remain here and will bring customers to and from the front door of your building. Self-driving cars don't offer this sort of infrastructure.

[nebport5]

Ok, If the Union Omaha Stadium + project is a go now, extending the streetcar to Millwork needs to happen sooner than later. If we’re about creating development via the streetcar using this momentum as a catalyst for going vertical on Lot B & D is a no-brainer. We all know it will only cost much more down the road.

[Garrett]

Ok, If the Union Omaha Stadium + project is a go now, extending the streetcar to Millwork needs to happen sooner than later. If we’re about creating development via the streetcar using this momentum as a catalyst for going vertical on Lot B & D is a no-brainer. We all know it will only cost much more down the road.

Agreed. Running up 10th through the new 11th street connection is a no brainer and could clock in at around a mile if done all the way to Seward, so definitely more substantive than the previously planned stub.

[nebport5]

Ok, If the Union Omaha Stadium + project is a go now, extending the streetcar to Millwork needs to happen sooner than later. If we’re about creating development via the streetcar using this momentum as a catalyst for going vertical on Lot B & D is a no-brainer. We all know it will only cost much more down the road.

Agreed. Running up 10th through the new 11th street connection is a no brainer and could clock in at around a mile if done all the way to Seward, so definitely more substantive than the previously planned stub.

This likely would also solidify Millwork as the "next Blackstone” and help defuse streetcar skeptics with greater connection to major sporting/entertainment events.

[Garrett]

Ok, If the Union Omaha Stadium + project is a go now, extending the streetcar to Millwork needs to happen sooner than later. If we’re about creating development via the streetcar using this momentum as a catalyst for going vertical on Lot B & D is a no-brainer. We all know it will only cost much more down the road.

Agreed. Running up 10th through the new 11th street connection is a no brainer and could clock in at around a mile if done all the way to Seward, so definitely more substantive than the previously planned stub.

This likely would also solidify Millwork as the "next Blackstone” and help defuse streetcar skeptics with greater connection to major sporting/entertainment events.

You underestimate people's capacity to complain. They already think the starter line is "for tourists" haha

[nebport5]

Ok, If the Union Omaha Stadium + project is a go now, extending the streetcar to Millwork needs to happen sooner than later. If we’re about creating development via the streetcar using this momentum as a catalyst for going vertical on Lot B & D is a no-brainer. We all know it will only cost much more down the road.

Agreed. Running up 10th through the new 11th street connection is a no brainer and could clock in at around a mile if done all the way to Seward, so definitely more substantive than the previously planned stub.

This likely would also solidify Millwork as the "next Blackstone” and help defuse streetcar skeptics with greater connection to major sporting/entertainment events.

You underestimate people's capacity to complain. They already think the starter line is "for tourists" haha

Actually I was thinking of those very people using the thing they used to complain about like pre-Convention Center…
of course, if Diane Marie Hayes is still around...

[locoluke]

Ok, If the Union Omaha Stadium + project is a go now, extending the streetcar to Millwork needs to happen sooner than later. If we’re about creating development via the streetcar using this momentum as a catalyst for going vertical on Lot B & D is a no-brainer. We all know it will only cost much more down the road.

It'd make too much sense to put in the streetcar extension while they are redeveloping all of this anyway rather than coming in 10 years down the road and tearing it all back up.

I have to imagine I'm preaching to the choir here when I say they should have started studying a line on 10th/13th to the Zoo yesterday given the development they've been trying to get going in Little Bohemia and now this.

[Garrett]

Ok, If the Union Omaha Stadium + project is a go now, extending the streetcar to Millwork needs to happen sooner than later. If we’re about creating development via the streetcar using this momentum as a catalyst for going vertical on Lot B & D is a no-brainer. We all know it will only cost much more down the road.

It'd make too much sense to put in the streetcar extension while they are redeveloping all of this anyway rather than coming in 10 years down the road and tearing it all back up.

I have to imagine I'm preaching to the choir here when I say they should have started studying a line on 10th/13th to the Zoo yesterday given the development they've been trying to get going in Little Bohemia and now this.

Ahhh you’re right! Quite the month for developments on both sides of the 10th-13th street corridor.

[halgy]

Ok, If the Union Omaha Stadium + project is a go now, extending the streetcar to Millwork needs to happen sooner than later. If we’re about creating development via the streetcar using this momentum as a catalyst for going vertical on Lot B & D is a no-brainer. We all know it will only cost much more down the road.

It'd make too much sense to put in the streetcar extension while they are redeveloping all of this anyway rather than coming in 10 years down the road and tearing it all back up.

I have to imagine I'm preaching to the choir here when I say they should have started studying a line on 10th/13th to the Zoo yesterday given the development they've been trying to get going in Little Bohemia and now this.

A new line to the zoo would be a big enough affair that understand if building it needs to wait until after the current line is finished. But I completely agree that the extension up to the stadium should be done ASAP, during the construction of the stadium if at all possible. It would absolutely supercharge any supplementary development that happens up in the Millwork Commons (and would guarantee that I get season tickets).

[Busguy2010]

A bit off topic, but since we were talking autonomous vehicles here, I just saw a commercial for Ford "Blue Cruise". Apparently it's a drive assist thing? I'm not even an old man and I have no |expletive| clue what to call it haha. My first thought was "Oh heck no". You're telling me if I go out on the road, I'm gonna have to trust autonomous vehicles from F O R D!? FIX OR REPAIR DAILY!? My god how skill and accountability have fallen. The commercial featured two young women letting the car do the driving and doing nothing even remotely important in place of it.

Terrible to see that people suck so bad at driving that this is even a sellable product. I'm legitimately worried about the future.

Please, no. I just saw another one and it portrayed a woman at the wheel day dreaming that she was conducting an orchestra with two kids in the back. This is not the way to go. I said I was worried, now I'm scared

[Busguy2010]

This is a pretty cool accommodation :

City of Omaha to support businesses with free trolleys along streetcar route https://share.google/fM57Iyy7Tm4Psg7rc

Looks like a partnership to reduce business stress along the construction route of the future streetcar.

I almost want to ride it just for the heck of it.

[Stan]

This is a pretty cool accommodation :

City of Omaha to support businesses with free trolleys along streetcar route https://share.google/fM57Iyy7Tm4Psg7rc

Looks like a partnership to reduce business stress along the construction route of the future streetcar.

I almost want to ride it just for the heck of it.

Great idea, but not great weather outlook to properly do this.

As far as autonomous cars, I'm growing more willing to give the cars computer a little more benefit of a doubt than I do some drivers.

[nebport5]

This is a pretty cool accommodation :

City of Omaha to support businesses with free trolleys along streetcar route https://share.google/fM57Iyy7Tm4Psg7rc

Looks like a partnership to reduce business stress along the construction route of the future streetcar.

I almost want to ride it just for the heck of it.

Great idea, but not great weather outlook to properly do this.

Never mind the weather(who doesn’t know where we live and last year was much colder) it’s only for 5 hours of one day.

[locoluke]

This is a pretty cool accommodation :

City of Omaha to support businesses with free trolleys along streetcar route https://share.google/fM57Iyy7Tm4Psg7rc

Looks like a partnership to reduce business stress along the construction route of the future streetcar.

I almost want to ride it just for the heck of it.

Looking at the map, the bigger news here to me is the Harney Street Bridge reopening by this Saturday

[Busguy2010]

This is a pretty cool accommodation :

City of Omaha to support businesses with free trolleys along streetcar route https://share.google/fM57Iyy7Tm4Psg7rc

Looks like a partnership to reduce business stress along the construction route of the future streetcar.

I almost want to ride it just for the heck of it.

Great idea, but not great weather outlook to properly do this.

Never mind the weather(who doesn’t know where we live and last year was much colder) it’s only for 5 hours of one day.

You're right, it is more of a show of consolation to the buisinesses for the time being than anything practical. But would still be cool to ride it along the route to get a sense of what it'll be like.

[Busguy2010]

For all practical purposes, the 15 still operates generally the same route every day.

[stadsborgare]

I actually love reading all the negative posts about the streetcar that comes up on local news' Facebook pages.

Why?

1) Project is a go and proceeding regardless what they think and all their griping.

2) Critics are for the most part ill-informed anyway, and it's fun reading all the idiotic reasoning.

3) I love to imagine egg on their faces when it becomes successful - of course, many will pretend like they were for it all along, just as when the CHI Center was built. It was supposed to be a "white elephant" but now we see Creighton is playing big-time college basketball and all the other major events happening there because city leaders saw the Civic Auditorium was just not going to cut it in the future.

4) To see if any critics dare to ever ride the streetcar or be stubborn about it and go about things the hard way.

[Athomsfere]

Man, I haven't been following this thread for a minute.

I can't believe anyone would thing autonomous driving and dumb ideas like the boring tunnels is a solution to anything. It's just going to be another nail in the coffin of American cities.

It makes sense to think of them filling the role of a taxi, maybe. But not real transit like bikes and trains.

Now excuse me while I walk to the pharmacy to grab some ibuprofen for my feet. I've got a train to catch in search of great sake here in Osaka. A city smart enough not to give up all of its space for gadgetbahns and private vehicles when a train is exponentially more efficient by any measure and creates vibrant cities.

[Jins123]

Anybody see or go do the Ollie The Trolly streetcar simulation event on Sunday?

[Renovator2559]

Man, I haven't been following this thread for a minute.

I can't believe anyone would thing autonomous driving and dumb ideas like the boring tunnels is a solution to anything. It's just going to be another nail in the coffin of American cities.

It makes sense to think of them filling the role of a taxi, maybe. But not real transit like bikes and trains.

Now excuse me while I walk to the pharmacy to grab some ibuprofen for my feet. I've got a train to catch in search of great sake here in Osaka. A city smart enough not to give up all of its space for gadgetbahns and private vehicles when a train is exponentially more efficient by any measure and creates vibrant cities.

The benefits of a homogenous society like Japan, where everyone is overworked and high suicide rates occur. Japan's trajectory as a society is downward.
While trains are more efficient, especially high speed trains. We would have to divest from the resource draining suburbs, which I'm fine with.

Waymo and other self-driving tech should be discouraged, they are not at all efficient in creating a walkable city. Boring company innovations are a joke, another flop of Elons pet projects dreamed like a child.

[Athomsfere]

Man, I haven't been following this thread for a minute.

I can't believe anyone would thing autonomous driving and dumb ideas like the boring tunnels is a solution to anything. It's just going to be another nail in the coffin of American cities.

It makes sense to think of them filling the role of a taxi, maybe. But not real transit like bikes and trains.

Now excuse me while I walk to the pharmacy to grab some ibuprofen for my feet. I've got a train to catch in search of great sake here in Osaka. A city smart enough not to give up all of its space for gadgetbahns and private vehicles when a train is exponentially more efficient by any measure and creates vibrant cities.

The benefits of a homogenous society like Japan, where everyone is overworked and high suicide rates occur. Japan's trajectory as a society is downward.
While trains are more efficient, especially high speed trains. We would have to divest from the resource draining suburbs, which I'm fine with.

Waymo and other self-driving tech should be discouraged, they are not at all efficient in creating a walkable city. Boring company innovations are a joke, another flop of Elons pet projects dreamed like a child.

I have no idea why you started with that bit about homogeneity. I will say, its changed a lot it seems since Covid. The sheer number of Indian residents is a stark difference.

[Gobears27]

Would it make sense for a potential streetcar extension to utilize the field club trail and the belt line trail right of way? There isn’t a lot of current development along both of those routes but it would have a car free right of way.

[Garrett]

Would it make sense for a potential streetcar extension to utilize the field club trail and the belt line trail right of way? There isn’t a lot of current development along both of those routes but it would have a car free right of way.

Not really, no. Both trails are overwhelmingly surrounded by single family residential, and the only major destination would be UNMC and the VA, with the next biggest one being 30th and Ames. Unless the city does some pretty big rezonings or even crazier swings like redeveloping Field Club (not a chance in heck), a theoretical Belt Line/Field Club streetcar wouldn’t generate much value. I could probably come up with about 10 extensions that would be better before that.

[Zephyr]

Don't forget about the open house this Thursday evening!

https://growomaha.com/grow-omaha-street ... cember-11/

[joleo]

Don't forget about the open house this Thursday evening!

https://growomaha.com/grow-omaha-street ... cember-11/

Would love to know if there is any new info on UNMC extension? I think the short extension to UNMC is going to be very important to ridership. Can somebody ask that at the open house?

[MadJack]

Eric Miller, who is the ops manager for Omaha’s new streetcar, wrote an interesting article in Grow Omaha about how streetcars continue to operate during winter weather: https://growomaha.com/grow-omaha-street ... perations/