[iamjacobm]

I think this is a really worthwhile conversation to have, but not in the restaurant thread!

[Busguy2010]

sooooo...

[iamjacobm]

Originally Posted by Busguy2010

sooooo...

Haha my bad I got distracted and didn't really add any thoughts.

Well first off if Omaha spent almost a billion on a beltway without a dime spent for public transit I would do anything in my power to move. A beltway would be a terrible terrible decision for this city in my opinion.

I do also agree with the point made that Omaha suburbs are for the most part much much better than the rest of the country.

204th is plenty far though, there is a lot of un/under developed land east of that where "suburban" houses can be built. Time to encourage that growth instead of the next cheap tract of farm land. It is becoming a strain on the city.

[Swarley55]

I think public transportation (a light rail or such) would be cool, but I don't think its very logical for Omaha. As the title of this thread notes, Omaha is sprawling. But, compared to cities its size, Omaha has low unemployment and high expendable income.

Public transit thrives when you have low income populations in a compact city where many many people all work in the same area.

Driving a car is just too convenient, and parking (for the most part) too available for a higher expendable income city with low unemployment.

[MountainMen]

I think the city should service people's needs where they choose to live. In Omaha, the population has chosen to sprawl out... So unless more people choose to live downtown or near downtown, light rail isn't practical. Like I've said before, the first place you're likely to see light rail is as a novelty tourism project connecting TD Ameritrade park with the Old Market for the CWS.

[Raphael07]

If you build it they will come.

[Swarley55]

Originally Posted by Raphael07

If you build it they will come.

Tell that to the monorail along the strip in Vegas.

One of the busiest places in the world, and its nearly bankrupt.

[Raphael07]

Originally Posted by Swarley55

Tell that to the monorail along the strip in Vegas.

One of the busiest places in the world, and its nearly bankrupt.

We, however, are an actual city and not a sprawled out mess of hotels and bedroom communities. And monorails are incredibly expensive to begin with.

[iamjacobm]

Originally Posted by MountainMen

I think the city should service people's needs where they choose to live. In Omaha, the population has chosen to sprawl out... So unless more people choose to live downtown or near downtown, light rail isn't practical. Like I've said before, the first place you're likely to see light rail is as a novelty tourism project connecting TD Ameritrade park with the Old Market for the CWS.

The thing is Omaha has subsidized people living in West Omaha. What else would you call the West Dodge Expressway?

Why can't the city invest in transportation to subsidize people living in downtown and midtown?

Also comparing any part of Omaha to the Las Vegas strip doesn't really make sense. Why not compare Omaha to the many cities where streetcars have proven wildly successful?

[omahajosh618]

I just drove through Denver. Great city, but crappy traffic and talk about sprawl! We really don't have it that bad even though there are a few problems in Omaha as well.

But then again, Denver does have a lightrail system.