A look inside an ORBT bus. Omaha’s first bus rapid transit line runs down Dodge Street.
ORBT stops feature raised platforms. Bikes can be wheeled on and hung on a bike rack inside the bus.
Ten of Omaha’s major happenings of the last 20 years and what lessons they might offer for Omaha’s future.
Omahans can expect significant upgrades to the city’s transportation system in the coming years.
As The World-Herald asked about Omaha’s future and its priorities, civic leaders ranked transportation as a leading issue for the city.
Public transit advocates have high hopes of getting more people out of their cars and developing new and better ways for people to move around the city. But civic leaders also see transportation as a critical equity issue for Omaha — offering low-income or unemployed people fast, reliable connections to jobs around the city.
Metro, the city's transit agency, will explore an expansion of the new bus rapid transit line. Interest is high in offering north-south connections to the ORBT spine.
“The city has a lot of potential, but I think transportation is definitely a barrier for a lot of people,” said Itzel Lopez, vice president of advancement and community relations at the AIM Institute, a nonprofit that works to build Omaha’s tech community.
The potential changes are the subject of potentially landmark discussions by Metro, the city’s transit agency, and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
Metro has started a strategic planning effort called MetroNEXT, the goal of which is creating a multiyear plan to improve public transit around the Omaha metro area.
Having started Omaha’s first bus rapid transit line down Dodge Street, Metro will look at expansion of the system. Interest is high in offering north-south connections to the new ORBT spine.
But the changes could go well beyond that.
The Urban Core Committee has been studying transportation upgrades through midtown and downtown. Interest is also growing in bicycling, especially during the pandemic.
The chamber is advancing on its ConnectGO initiative, aiming to set a bold strategy to modernize the metro area’s transportation system. Along with that, the chamber’s Urban Core Committee has been studying transportation upgrades through midtown and downtown.
Interest also is growing in bicycling, particularly during the pandemic.
On a much larger scale, Omaha can expect to resolve its long debate over starting a modern streetcar line.
A streetcar running between downtown Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus remains on the table. It’s not a foregone conclusion, but the chances of a streetcar project happening are perhaps greater than at any point in recent years.
“The project can absolutely happen, and I believe that it should,” said Jay Lund, a developer of the Blackstone district where a streetcar might operate, a Metro transit board member and longtime streetcar booster with Modern Streetcar Advocates.
A streetcar running between downtown and the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus remains on the table.
Omaha’s future: Looking back on 10 major changes over the last 20 years
Omaha's future: Looking back on 10 major changes over the last 20 years
TD Ameritrade Park
Omaha broke with tradition to build TD Ameritrade Park, which opened in 2011. In abandoning Rosenblatt Stadium, the city secured its signature College World Series long term. But the city also lost a beloved landmark. Can Omaha find a way to embrace the old as it builds for the future?
The riverfront
Omaha not only built the arena and convention center — it recreated its entire riverfront. Lewis and Clark Landing opened in 2003, and the landmark Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge followed in 2008, among other additions. But the space never fully energized. Now Omaha is taking another costly crack at it with a $290 million riverfront and downtown park revitalization, largely privately funded by donors, along with a privately funded $101 million riverfront science museum.
Maha
Omaha’s home-grown music festival, started in 2009 as Maha Music Festival, has become a headline community event. Omaha is a city constantly trying to become more appealing. What else can we do to have more fun?
Midtown Crossing
Mutual of Omaha’s $365 million investment in its midtown neighborhood was a major bet on Omaha's urban revitalization. Opening in 2010, Midtown Crossing helped lead the city's redevelopment trend. So what’s next? Look down Farnam Street to the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
First National Tower
First National Bank changed Omaha’s skyline — 33 years after the Woodmen Tower opened. Now it has been 19 years since First National Tower opened in 2002. When will downtown Omaha see another skyscraper change the skyline?
Corporate evolution
Omaha took a corporate hit in 2016 when Conagra Foods moved its headquarters to Chicago. Four years later, TD Ameritrade — with its new office headquarters in Old Mill — sold to a rival. Union Pacific and Kiewit Corp. staked new corporate headquarters in Omaha. Can Omaha be resilient through future corporate shakeups?
Neighborhood reemergence
Benson and Blackstone became vibrant commercial districts again, in much different ways than Midtown Crossing’s development. On a neighborhood level, what districts are poised to spring back?
ORBT
The city’s new rapid bus line, which debuted in November 2020, symbolizes Omaha’s growing interest in improving its public transit system. Omaha is increasingly turning to new ways of getting around — whether by bus, bike or maybe even streetcar in the future.
CHI Health Center Omaha, originally known as Qwest Center Omaha.
Approved by voters in 2000 and opened in 2003, the modern arena and convention center upped Omaha's game in the competition for concerts, major sporting events and conventions. But that kind of move comes with a steep price — $291 million from public sources and donors.
Elkhorn annexation
Big decisions on Omaha’s growth sometimes happen fast, as when Omaha outraced Elkhorn in 2005 to annex the growing western Douglas County suburb. Now suburban Bennington sits outside a growing Omaha’s boundary.
jeff.robb@owh.com, 402-444-1128, twitter.com/jeffreyrobb
Jeffrey Robb
Jeff Robb dives into data for The World-Herald. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyrobb. Phone: 402-444-1128.
