This month’s Coffee Chat welcomed Nick Weander from the engineering and design firm Olsson Associates. Nick began his career as an intern with MAPA, worked as project manager and grants coordinator, and spent time as a regional planner in Tennessee. Nick was able to provided unique insights on the infrastructure differences between Lincoln, Omaha, and other communities, including the challenges of working intergovernmentally, varying tax authorities, and differences in land use development.
Attendees discussed current and future city projects, such as the 30th St. road diet, a 13th St. walkability study, the development of Dodge & 192nd St., and the future of the Omaha Rapid Bus Transit (ORBT) program. Weander noted the complexity of city infrastructure and encouraged participants to be engaged in political process – to build a coalition!
Join us for next month’s Coffee Chat on Friday, January 19th at Spielbound where Mike Helgerson from the Metro Area Planning Agency (MAPA) will discuss “How a Plan Becomes a Project.”