Let’s Move on Public Transit Improvements

The Central Omaha Transit Alternatives Analysis (COAA) held its fourth public meeting on December 3, 2013, before finalizing the transit recommendations it will make to the Omaha City Council and Metro Board of Directors. After more than a year of study and discussions with stakeholders and the public, the COAA has narrowed the possible alternatives down to 3 major options, and one combination of two options. The options are laid out in detail here, but briefly they include:

1. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along Dodge/Douglas
2. Bus Rapid Transit along Farnam/Harney (couplet) or Farnam (contraflow)
3. Modern Streetcar along Farnam/Harney (couplet) or Farnam (contraflow)
4. Combined Bus Rapid Transit and Modern Streetcar, both along Farnam/Harney

We are very pleased to see the City and Metro taking the steps needed to improve transportation options along the Dodge/Douglas/Harney/Farnam corridor, which serves as the backbone and core to improving the larger regional transit system. Providing multiple options along this corridor is our best bet for changing the culture of transportation in Omaha. As noted during the public meeting, study after study has shown the need for better public transportation in Omaha, now is the time to make improvements happen!

Mode Shift Omaha supports transportation options for everyone. Any of the alternatives will help to bring this about—we support the option or combination of options that has the most likelihood of getting implemented. Beyond that, we support the option(s) that will have the biggest impact on improving the larger transit system. From the data provided, funding for these projects will come from different sources (not necessarily from raising taxes), and will serve somewhat different populations. Both BRT and a streetcar will also potentially bring a great deal of economic development to the area. The study projects, over a 15 year outlook, a potential increase of 1,200 to 8,500 jobs and additional development growth of $305 million to $1 billion. It would be fiscally irresponsible for the City NOT to invest in these transportation options given the return on investment (not to mention enhancement in quality of life for citizens).

After a good deal of discussion with members and colleagues, among the proposed options we support the BRT because it seems the most likely to be done sooner and extend service to a larger area. Of the BRT options, we prefer the Farnam contraflow. If the BRT option is selected, we encourage aiming for the “gold standard,” incorporating best practices such as dedicated lanes and other amenities essential to make the outcomes of a BRT worth the investment.

We also appreciate the value of a modern streetcar and support this option if it is feasible. Of the streetcar options, we prefer the Farnam contraflow. Contraflow (two-way flow for transit)[1] is preferable to the couplet (one-way pair)[2] options because, as Jarrett Walker discusses in his book Human Transit, couplets are more problematic for users. He writes in a blog post about this:

…if you care about people getting where they’re going, the one-way split reduces the area served by a transit line. That’s because for a two-way line to be useful, you have to be able to walk to both directions of a service. The further apart the two directions are, the smaller the area…that will have a reasonable walk to both of them.

We want transportation options that get people to where they need to go!

We also urge the City to include protected bike lanes in the Farnam contraflow design if feasible. The Transportation Master Plan showed Farnam and many downtown streets have more space than needed for cars, so it’s likely there will be room to create a true “complete street” on Farnam, where cars, buses, bikes and pedestrians can co-exist safely and efficiently. In addition, we hope the proposed COAA route or other plans in the Regional Transit Vision will address better transit access to Creighton and the airport.

Finally, we suggest we all start reframing discussion about these transportation options—highlighting the increased capacity and multiple benefits they will bring to everyone. In particular, we all know the mention of a streetcar immediately brings to mind past studies and controversies. Times have changed and the demand for public transportation has increased—the way we talk about options such as a streetcar needs to change too. What about calling it the “Omaha Midtown Tram” or the “Midtown Connector”?

What do you think? Please post your comments below so we can consider them before finalizing the official comments we send into the COAA.

Please also send your comments to the COAA by the end of this month. You can send them directly to: email@OmahaAlternativesAnalysis.com or see the comment form here. The more comments the better; we need to show decision-makers that we want action on transit improvements now.