Omaha Streetcar Discussion

loyalomahan · Post by **loyalomahan** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 7:47 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.

Great idea. That way they can pawn their cars before they resort to stealing their neighbors television set. I bet it'll be effective in reducing crime.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 8:06 pm

i'm digging wag's option2.. it seams to work best with what the city wants to do

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 8:22 pm

Wasn't the plan to run line along Cuming? There's going to be 3 hotels and a ballpark situated on that street. It'd be a waste not include that.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 8:28 pm

Request for Permanent fixture in the Transportation Thread....Jeff, Lou

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:35 pm

Adam, my reasoning for not putting the line on Cuming is that it is a much higher traffic road. Also, Webster was stated in the NDT plan as the main east-west pedestrian route through NDT. It still would go along the south edge of the ballpark. The hotels on Cuming would only be 2 blocks away.

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:42 pm

I like wags' Option 2 idea also - maybe an idea is to have a bi-directional loop downtown? That would also be easy for people to use and figure out, then branches could easily be built off of that loop... like so:

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:11 pm

I think thats a good idea with the DT loop Phase 1. Phase 2 to UNMC. Phase 3 down 13th to Rosenblatt/HDZ maybe?

Anyways, question for you Eric? Could they build a single track loop and have something like mini rail spurs so say a eastbound could pull in and drop/off load while a westbound goes past on the mainline? I'm guessing something like a single track loop with said "rail spurs" could run both directions, it might take some more monitoring? I'm just thinking less track = lower cost. If this idea would work, then you could even do one line down to UNMC, etc. Has this approach been used anywhere? Bad idea? Thanks.

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:42 pm

About the single track with sidings (not spurs), not a bad idea, but it's usually not used in operations without schedules. Some starter light rail systems will do this (San Diego and Baltimore as 2 examples), but they run on tight schedules - streetcars are not as precise and usually require one track for each direction. Unless you run the streetcars like every 20-30 minutes, then you could probably time them like that. But usually you want the streetcars coming at least every 5-10 minutes. Typically, a streetcar may use one single track in the system, like where it terminates and turns back or crosses over a bridge (usually only a distance of 2-4 blocks), where it has a small chance of passing another streetcar, but that's about it.

The exception to this is Tampa, but they have a longer headway, about 20 minutes.

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:52 pm

By the way, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet (and for anyone who doesn't go to the Transportation forum), here's the "Official" thread:

http://www.eomaha.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4379

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 10:31 pm

Ok I see, thanks for that Eric. Still, I'm thinking the single line w/ sidings and a shorter arrival time interval would be possible using some sort of GPS/computer tracking system. Of course the cost of said system might negate any savings of single track compared to double track.

Anyways, I'm stoked up about this, I just want to see Omaha get the most coverage/ridership/etc per dollar, which I'm sure I'm not alone there.

BTW, I'd be glad to help contribute to the cause in any way I can, I could take pics of proposed routes or kneecap people for funding.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 10:35 pm

the1wags wrote:Adam, my reasoning for not putting the line on Cuming is that it is a much higher traffic road. Also, Webster was stated in the NDT plan as the main east-west pedestrian route through NDT. It still would go along the south edge of the ballpark. The hotels on Cuming would only be 2 blocks away.

I was just saying that because I thought the "original" plan from HDR had the streetcar system running down Cuming St and then to 10th St. and Old Market.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 11:02 pm

it does make more sense to put it on Webster. I dont think having a streetcar running down the main artery that connects the airport and the freeway to the QCO is a good idea. particularly after major events...

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 11:22 pm

Agreed, it would put people in the middle of the new North Downtown entertainment district and spur more development and bring people to where the action is. If it was on Cuming/Abbot St. it would put people on the edge of everthing.

Post by **Brad** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 11:47 pm

The light Rail in Dallas was double tracked and trains ran about every five min

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 8:34 pm

Zephyr wrote: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!!

In the spirit of this, I have created a streetcar discussion forum on the Omaha Streetcar site. This is not meant to eclipse what we have here at eOmaha, in fact I should publicly thank Jeff for hosting the Omaha Streetcar site out of his own pocket before we moved earlier this year. We've garnered a large percentage of traffic rooted in links from eOmaha. Centering discussion of streetcars in Omaha at the Omaha Streetcar site will hopefully increase awareness and presence for the cause.

http://www.omahastreetcar.com/forums.html

Adam

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 12:15 am

omaha streetcar is crashing in jeff's "living room" aww how sweet jeff. can i crash there?

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Tue May 02, 2006 9:09 pm

I like Eric's first option, with a potential loop downtown.

I don't think Wags routs are as feesible. Streetcars and light rail don't work like freeways, in massive loops. It's all about corridors and lines feeding into the center city.

As Eric said, I think it's imperative that the first phase connect Creighton, Qwest, Midtown/Mutual, and UNMC, and certainly UNO eventually.

Places like Rosenblatt and the Zoo are not places to which people make regular trips. Certainly it would make sense to expand the light rail to serve those locations in the future, but there is no need to connect them with the first phase, in which finances will probably be tight.

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Wed May 03, 2006 4:44 pm

Due to lack of interest, I think I will discontinue the "eOmaha Forum Streetcar Committee" for now. But I will monitor this thread for any great ideas and submit them to the board. And of course, I encourage anyone interested to get involved in Omaha Streetcar directly - they have weekly board meetings and are planning a larger public meeting for sometime later this month...

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Wed May 03, 2006 4:49 pm

Ah, come on Zephyr. You need to nag Jeff to stickey this. He doesn't pick up hints and suggestions to well on the forum. There is plenty of interest, we just can't talk about it everyday. It's just a lull period. Once again NAG JEFF until he STICKYs this.

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Wed May 03, 2006 4:54 pm

I'm not saying there's a total lack of interest, just that no one except you has joined the committee and it's been a week. I figure it would be better to funnel interest into Omaha Streetcar directly instead, but still have this thread up for general ideas, etc.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Wed May 03, 2006 8:25 pm

I'm confused. How do we join?

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Wed May 03, 2006 8:51 pm

^First post in this thread.

Zephyr wrote: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.

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Thu May 04, 2006 3:08 pm

Ok, so the committee is still on - we just got 2 new members!

Thanks Swift and MTO.

To get the committee rolling, what should be our first order of business to present to the streetcar board? The proposed route map?

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Thu May 04, 2006 3:26 pm

That would certainly be a start and also pointing out the many new developments in DTO residential commercial etc..

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Thu May 04, 2006 5:42 pm

I PM'd you about joining the board so I'll kick in my 2 cents.

I think the proposed routes are the first thing to show, absolutely. The routing must be figured out first to know how much the proposal will cost, leading to stage 2 which I'm assuming would be securing financing.

Also, I don't know if you happened to save my proposed routes, my image hosting site seems to be having problems. If you would like/need them, I'd be happy to sent them to you.

Lastly, if you need pictures taken along the proposed routes, I'd be happy to contribute towards the cause. Me and the trusty Nikon are ready to go.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Thu May 04, 2006 6:13 pm

Also I think it would be good to show them maps of other city's light rail, when they were built, etc. (like did you know SF's BART didn't begin construction until the late 60's or early 70's and didn't connect to SFO until 2003).

Also I think we should make long term plans for a light rail system that extends through out the city, as well as across the river to CB.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Thu May 04, 2006 6:26 pm

I could go to the old market and do an informal survey to see where they want to ride and if they would. We could, ofcourse talk about the questions on here.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Thu May 04, 2006 10:11 pm

adam186 wrote:I could go to the old market and do an informal survey to see where they want to ride and if they would. We could, ofcourse talk about the questions on here.

Are you sure you want to try that with your luck?

And Wags better photoshop a billion people in walking around too.

SaOmaha · Post by **SaOmaha** » Fri May 05, 2006 1:30 am

almighty_tuna wrote:
Zephyr wrote: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!!
In the spirit of this, I have created a streetcar discussion forum on the Omaha Streetcar site. This is not meant to eclipse what we have here at eOmaha, in fact I should publicly thank Jeff for hosting the Omaha Streetcar site out of his own pocket before we moved earlier this year. We've garnered a large percentage of traffic rooted in links from eOmaha. Centering discussion of streetcars in Omaha at the Omaha Streetcar site will hopefully increase awareness and presence for the cause.

http://www.omahastreetcar.com/forums

Adam

almighty_tuna, The correct web address for OmahaStreetCar.com new discussion forum is:

http://www.omahastreetcar.com/forums.html

Some Interesting discussion has started here, which includes ‘Mass Transit’ in other cities.

Harpoon · Post by **Harpoon** » Fri May 05, 2006 4:13 am

Zephyr wrote: To get the committee rolling, what should be our first order of business to present to the streetcar board? The proposed route map?

Isn't this what the recent HDR study was supposed to determine? If so, why are you guys re-inventing the wheel?

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Fri May 05, 2006 5:06 am

SaOmaha wrote:
almighty_tuna wrote:
Zephyr wrote: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!!
In the spirit of this, I have created a streetcar discussion forum on the Omaha Streetcar site. This is not meant to eclipse what we have here at eOmaha, in fact I should publicly thank Jeff for hosting the Omaha Streetcar site out of his own pocket before we moved earlier this year. We've garnered a large percentage of traffic rooted in links from eOmaha. Centering discussion of streetcars in Omaha at the Omaha Streetcar site will hopefully increase awareness and presence for the cause.

http://www.omahastreetcar.com/forums

Adam

almighty_tuna, The correct web address for OmahaStreetCar.com new discussion forum is:

http://www.omahastreetcar.com/forums.html

Some Interesting discussion has started here, which includes ‘Mass Transit’ in other cities.

Oh good grief. Yes, forgot the ".html". Thanks, Sa!

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Fri May 05, 2006 5:31 am

Harpoon wrote:
Zephyr wrote: To get the committee rolling, what should be our first order of business to present to the streetcar board? The proposed route map?
Isn't this what the recent HDR study was supposed to determine? If so, why are you guys re-inventing the wheel?

Yes, I'm sure the latest HDR study includes/will include proposed routes. However nobody knows what's in that study, which is quite frustrating. Allow me to be less than subtle, speaking as an individual. It is exciting to speculate where the best place for a streetcar route will be. But it won't help get streetcars in Omaha! Talk to your friends and co-workers about streetcars, write your city council representative and the Public Pulse. The point is to make enough positive noise about streetcars that the issue cannot be ignored. We will not likely be able to choose a streetcar route and chances are if you ask 5 people where they want one you will get 4 different locations and one person asking what a streetcar is. The fundamental idea though is that you want streetcars back in Omaha, so sell that. So ends my soapbox session.

Swift, to answer your question on how to join...If you want to join Omaha Streetcar, visit http://www.omahastreetcar.com/getonboard.html and sign up. Its free to become a member. If you want to volunteer and actively participate then indicate that and you will be contacted pretty darn quick.

Sa is right, things are beginning to come together on the Omaha Streetcar forum. I think I've got everything running smoothly now, including the right web address, Sa!

http://www.omahastreetcar.com
http://www.omahastreetcar.com/forums.html

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Fri May 05, 2006 5:46 am

almighty_tuna wrote:Talk to your friends and co-workers about streetcars, write your city council representative and the Public Pulse.

I plan on talking to my Real Estate Finance class about and hand out information. Is there a media packet or anything I could use? Also, I want to take the idea to the people that would be affected like, the businesses owners, pedestrians in the old market to name a few. Spread the awareness that something is going on hopefully they become pro streetcar.

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Fri May 05, 2006 1:43 pm

adam186 wrote:
almighty_tuna wrote:Talk to your friends and co-workers about streetcars, write your city council representative and the Public Pulse.
I plan on talking to my Real Estate Finance class about and hand out information. Is there a media packet or anything I could use? Also, I want to take the idea to the people that would be affected like, the businesses owners, pedestrians in the old market to name a few. Spread the awareness that something is going on hopefully they become pro streetcar.

I believe we have a media packet in the works. Drop me a PM

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Wed May 10, 2006 3:23 pm

I posed our route map ideas on the Omaha Streetcar forum:

http://www.omahastreetcar.com/OSCForum/ ... wPost.aspx

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Wed May 10, 2006 4:51 pm

Very nice! I signed up awhile ago so I can contribute overthere aswell. Where are the board meetings?

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Wed May 10, 2006 6:18 pm

The location of board meetings varies from week to week. If you post about it on the OSC board, Gerald will be able to fill you in for this week if you're not on the email list.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 4:38 pm

Here's an idea (I'm not sure if they already do this)...but you should be able to use your ticket for CWS/Royals/Qwest events to ride on the streetcar/bus for free on the day of the event.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 4:28 am

I thought it was going to be free anyway. I could be wrong, but I thought that was the deal.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 5:51 am

Ha. No.