Omaha Streetcar Discussion

Maverick · Post by **Maverick** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:17 pm

Farnam is only one way west from 4-6 in the afternoon on weekdays. I believe it's one way east for two hours in the morning. It's bidirectional the rest of the time.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:47 pm

Only from where it intersects Dodge St to where it crosses Saddle Creek!

Maverick · Post by **Maverick** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:56 pm

Huh... you make a great point. I should pay better attention to details like "from 42nd street" before I post a reply!

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:59 pm

..from Dodge to 42nd Street (curves into Harney just before 42nd St.)

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 10:52 pm

Oops. I realized going to Jake's house the other day that I put the wrong street on the site. I was driving down Harney actually. It wouldn't be the first time I've driven the wrong way down a one way before. I did it on Leavenworth going east in the farthest north lane from 42nd to some chinese restaurant.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 4:43 pm

Maverick wrote:Huh... you make a great point. I should pay better attention to details like "from 42nd street" before I post a reply!

Yeah, that's what I thought...

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:56 am

Dundee wants to be added to streetcar plans

BY MAHALIA ASANAENYI

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

The Dundee neighborhood is hoping its history will help persuade the city to add the area to a plan that would return streetcar service to Omaha.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2115813

Post by **Brad** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 5:48 pm

^That would be a cool phase three or four.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 7:14 pm

I would see connection of Dundee, UNO, and Aksarben Village to the system as a great phase 3.

Anyway, great news. Any and all community interest in this is only furthering the idea.

OmahaTheGreat · Post by **OmahaTheGreat** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:54 am

If they build a streetcar, it must include Dundee, at least eventually. They want to take it to UNMC already, take it a few more blocks to Dundee. Although the Dundee area ridership on the bus is pretty sparse compared to midtown and west downtown area, (I know this because I don't have a car and ride the bus to work everyday) I think that dundee area people would support a streetcar or light rail. I don't know why but riding a rail line is cool and romantic but riding a bus is uncool. Extending the rail line beyond 50th street would be a waste of money though--thats where the Apts and the Renters end and the big money "never ride public transportation unless a gun pointed to my head" begin. 49th street is about the last street where "New" riders get on the bus. People get on at Crossroads but they are almost exclusively transfers from North and South Omaha. I just thought I'd report this to you all cause from the stuff I've read, it doesn't sound like there are any experienced Omaha public transportation riders on this board.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 6:04 am

Making the western terminus in Dundee should go without saying; I was kind of shocked that Dundee itself had to point it out.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:35 am

pkiphd wrote:Making the western terminus in Dundee should go without saying; I was kind of shocked that Dundee itself had to point it out.

Ya, me too. My first reaction to the headline was, "Duh, you think?"

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:42 am

OmahaTheGreat wrote:Extending the rail line beyond 50th street would be a waste of money though--thats where the Apts and the Renters end and the big money "never ride public transportation unless a gun pointed to my head" begin. 49th street is about the last street where "New" riders get on the bus. People get on at Crossroads but they are almost exclusively transfers from North and South Omaha. I just thought I'd report this to you all cause from the stuff I've read, it doesn't sound like there are any experienced Omaha public transportation riders on this board.

Thanks for pointing that out Great. You know, I really think that MAT should go on a huge marketing blitz to advertise public transportation. They should run tv ads, billboards, magazine/newspaper ads, radio, etc. to show the benefits of riding compared to a car and display their schedule. I don't know, it's just a thought I thought I'd share w/ everyone.

WizardofNoz · Post by **WizardofNoz** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 5:11 am

back to modest mouse's point about UNO.

a street car from UNO to the QWest, perhaps they could get some of the student body to show up at those hockey games wit hthe streetcar.

They would no longer need a DD to get down there.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 5:58 am

A lightrail line to UNO is an eventuality. It's not as necessary right now as it will be in 10 years or so, what with all of the new on campus housing that will be added.

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:13 pm

Thanks to the tireless work of our fellow forumer almighty tuna, Omaha Streetcar now has a revamped website, just released yesterday:

http://www.omahastreetcar.com/

There will be more updates to come...

Also, stay tuned for another big meeting (hopefully at Mutual of Omaha in the end of May) and also you can join the group on the "Get on Board" page.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:23 pm

The new site looks great Zephyr..

It's easy to tell you all put in some dedicated time to update it..

Nice job and thanks for providing the link!..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:53 pm

Nice!!

Good work guys. I'll be keeping an eye on it, I'd like to attend the events.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 6:09 pm

I like it. Thanks for all the hard work the two of you mus have put into it. Speaking of tuna, he's been noticably absent a while.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 6:24 pm

I was look at the "Get on Board" page and an idea came to mind. I'm just going to throw this out here, but would it be possible to create an eOmaha sub-comittee?

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:19 pm

Great site Eric and Adam. Nice to be able to see news of the progress!

Harpoon · Post by **Harpoon** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 5:01 pm

Looks like there is a bunch of info on the website. What were the results of the streetcar study anyway? Is there a route that has been decided upon?

Will · Post by **Will** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 2:26 am

With the rise of gas prices, you would assume that the city would try to get this up and running

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:25 am

well done guys! havent heard of streetcars for a while glad to see it

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 1:15 am

Harpoon wrote:Looks like there is a bunch of info on the website. What were the results of the streetcar study anyway? Is there a route that has been decided upon?

Depends on which study you're talking about. The latest one, "released" in December is still very hush-hush. I haven't heard much about it since Fahey's State of the City address. My impression though is that it contained a positive outcome for streetcars. Which is hardly surprising since every study in the past decade has turned out the same way. No route has publicly been decided upon, nor have I heard anything up the rumor mill. However, momentum is still good and there will be more talk of streetcars in the coming weeks.

Glad you all like the site, thanks for the kudos and the site traffic! I'll be adding more active content and refining a few details over the next few weeks.

Adam, its nice to be missed! Heh, I haven't really been doing much lately on the internet that hasn't been work related. I lurk during the day from time to time. I'll be on more soon though.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 1:18 am

Haha, there he is.

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 7:22 pm

Thanks for all the feedback and comments, guys. Adam 186, I'd be interested to hear more about your eOmaha subcommittee idea - is this somethim we would do on the eOmaha forum or the Streetcar website?

Adam tuna hit the nail on the head. The study has not been completed yet (it was only released for the Mayor's State of the City address) but when it does, hopefully Omaha Streetcar can work better with the Mayor's office (and potentially Heritage Services) to get the first phase going. Then we can talk more about the route, stations, etc.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 7:47 pm

Okay, I was thinking that the eOmaha sub-committee could discuss things here more indepthly or through email. The really good ideas would ideas and suggestions would be listed presented to the committee for further analysis and critiquing before the it's listed on the website. Just something I thought some of us forumers would like to get involved with.

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 9:20 pm

That's a cool idea - one thing we could do is have a sticky on the Transportation forum, perhaps called "Omaha Streetcar Discussion" or something, where we could periodically post ideas and thoughts for consideration. What do you think about that?

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 9:31 pm

Sounds good to me, but we need stick on "Official:" to that thread title.

I'll give you the honors for starting the thread over there and jump starting the conversation.

Glad I could help.

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 10:24 pm

Zephyr wrote:Thanks for all the feedback and comments, guys. Adam, I'd be interested to hear more about your eOmaha subcommittee idea - is this somethim we would do on the eOmaha forum or the Streetcar website?

Adam hit the nail on the head. The study has not been completed yet (it was only released for the Mayor's State of the City address) but when it does, hopefully Omaha Streetcar can work better with the Mayor's office (and potentially Heritage Services) to get the first phase going. Then we can talk more about the route, stations, etc.

You must differentiate your Adams!

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 10:37 pm

almighty_tuna wrote:You must differentiate your Adams!

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 2:01 pm

Sorry! It will be Adam tuna and Adam 186 from now on then...

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 2:28 pm

This thread is for more in-depth discussion relating to Omaha Streetcar (http://www.omahastreetcar.com) and anything relating to planning for light rail and streetcars in Omaha.

Additionally, I would like to propose (from Adam186's idea) creating an eOmaha subcommittee for Omaha Streetcar. The really good ideas listed in this thread could be presented to the committee for further analysis and critiquing before the being listed on the Omaha Streetcar website or presented to the Omaha Streetcar board. I will volunteer to collect names of anyone wanting to be on this committee and will manage the group - PM me if you want to be on this committee.

Now let's get the discussion rolling!!

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 2:43 pm

Ok, I'll make the first comment. I think it's important to hammer out a potential system map first, to get people thinking about possibilities. Who knows when the study will ultimately be completed, but I want to narrow down some possible routes that can then be used to critique whatever the Heritage Services study proposes. And who know - we may end up close to what that study suggests!

For a successful starter system, I suggest connecting the following activity centers:
->UNMC/Midtown
->Downtown/Old Market
->North Downtown/Creighton/Qwest Center

The trick is aligning the streetcar route to hit all these things. Here's one possibility:

In summary, I think it might be a good idea for the Omaha Streetcar group to firm up some things (like routes), which could be helpful when explaining the concept to the public. What do you think?
[/list]

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:07 pm

I'd really like to see Rosenblatt/HDZ utilized as a park 'n' ride, as well, but that could be a ways off.

-E

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:13 pm

I know Nebraskan's are loathe to gambling, but a line to the 3 casinos would be a very popular route, connected to the Old Market and the Qwest.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:27 pm

to the casinos and the mac and the bass pro shop etc..

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:39 pm

I agree wholeheartedly that route options must be looked at first. Potential riders, cost, etc. My 2 cents currently is this. Your proposed route is very good, but focuses on a very narrow corridor. I think we would get more potential riders and develpment for track miles/$$$ by spreading it out like seen in these two options. Blue line only (- red).

Ill call your route Option 1 so...

Option 2

Option 3 (or something like)

I realize there is a bit more track but also more access to Creighton Med and also more Midtown residents. What do you guys think?

Also, you guys realize that we can barely get the ped bridge going, and light rail across the interstate bridges ain't happening. This is an Omaha streetcar, we need to focus on Omaha. Sure long term, extentions across the river could happen but we need to get the ball rolling on phase 1 here first.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 7:01 pm

Zephyr wrote:Ok, I'll make the first comment. I think it's important to hammer out a potential system map first, to get people thinking about possibilities. Who knows when the study will ultimately be completed, but I want to narrow down some possible routes that can then be used to critique whatever the Heritage Services study proposes. And who know - we may end up close to what that study suggests!

For a successful starter system, I suggest connecting the following activity centers:
->UNMC/Midtown
->Downtown/Old Market
->North Downtown/Creighton/Qwest Center

The trick is aligning the streetcar route to hit all these things. Here's one possibility:

In summary, I think it might be a good idea for the Omaha Streetcar group to firm up some things (like routes), which could be helpful when explaining the concept to the public. What do you think?
[/list]

I think this map is good for a phase one. You'd see a lot of development along the line over the next decade or so.

One thing you'd have to do is get MAT to change their bus lines. Since the streetcar is running mostly east and west, the buses should run mostly north and south to maximize the coverage area.

It would also be great if the street car had an express mode as well, so that it is actually a timely travel option.

I'd like to see it connected to Rosenblatt/HDZ, and across the river to the casinos.

And long term I'd like to see it go through out the entire city, like this:
http://images14.fotki.com/v220/filevtzw ... itled1.jpg

smaller version here:
http://public.fotki.com/swift/places_iv ... led-1.html

The lines look like they're too spread out, but if you have bus lines running north and south to connect them...well then basically you get anywhere in Omaha with out a car.