[McBain II]

Originally Posted by harshbarj

That is common to any city in the us, therefor it applies to none.


While that was true for a while that started to change nearly 10 years ago. Downtown has again started to grow and people are moving east again into the old city.


Again, this is common to American cities so you could try to apply it to almost any major city.


Every city is racialy segregated. Even New york has it's districs that are primarily one race or ethnicity, and that is a good thing. I myself long for a day when Omaha can regain it's little Italy and other such neighborhoods again.


Not sure what you are trying to say here. Overall Omahas bus system is good. most of the eastern half of the city has a bus route within walking distance. The west simply does not need that dense of a system because most people out there use automobiles.


True, but again many cities across the us gave up their trolley systems because of the love affair with the automobile! Very few kept their systems much past the 1950's, it has only been in the last few years that cities have begun to see the mistake in closing down the trolleys and have started replacing them. Even omaha will regain it's system in the next 10 years.


Not so many anymore. Downtown is alive again and space is at a premium. The few remaining empty buildings will likely be repurposed as lofts and help grow the urban core even faster.


Care to state examples? Only examples I can think of where old abandoned structures that were an eyesore that today are providing jobs as walmarts and other such businesses!


90%, Really? So 328 days of the year are bad? I hate to break it to you, but that number you gave is actually closer to the number of nice days Omaha has.


Not that this is really a problem in Omaha, but in most major cities this is at least a minor problem. Omaha, unlike other major cities (like Denver or L.A.) has geography to thank for helping clear the problem. pollution simply cant build up here as it simply blows away.


It is clear you HATE Omaha, so why even post on these forums! Omaha has a lot to offer and is statistically a safe and clean city with few major problems. Not everything is perfect and it would be great to see some improvments (like more bike lanes!!!) but the city is trying and will get there in time.

Good post. Saved me the trouble.

[Busguy2010]

Originally Posted by MountainMen

10. Polluted air from car exhaust and cigarette smoke.

Your cigarette pollution claim has become quite the annoyance.

[choppy512]

Ive never heard anyone ever make that claim.....that cigarette smoke polutes the airs outdoors.

I hate cigarettes and cant stand the smell indoors.


But to claim that its polluting the outdoors?

[Michael Weston]

Originally Posted by MountainMen

Unfortunately, Omaha has far too much in common with Detroit, and actually makes Detroit look good in a number of areas.

Some points in common:

1. An un-waivering dependence on the automobile.
2. White flight and neglect of the urban core.
3. Layers upon layers of suburbs.
4. Racial segregation.
5. Public transportation only good enough for the need-based society.
6. A thriving trolley car system that was dismantled decades ago.
7. Empty warehouses downtown.
8. Centers of vitality that were plowed over for parking lots.
9. Horrible weather 90% of the year.
10. Polluted air from car exhaust and cigarette smoke.

This post gave me a good laugh. Same old tired rhetoric: "Cars bad! Suburbs bad!"

[2Adam29]

There used to be a group of posters who went around to different boards and promoted Omaha where it was applicable, but a couple losers chased us around saying we were nuts, until we all shut up for the most part.

[MountainMen]

Where do I start? The reason I make these criticisms is not because I "HATE" Omaha but rather it is the opposite. I want to see things improve. Einstein said you can't solve a problem by using the same kind of thinking that created it, so the standard Omaha status quo thinking that has ruled the past 60 years isn't going to make this city any better.

When did cigarette smoke become acceptable? The surgeon general stated it is fact there is no safe level of cigarette smoke. It is extremely toxic and there is WAY too much of it in this city. I can't go anywhere in Omaha without breathing polluted air from this stuff.

Centers of vitality plowed over for parking lots? I can name hundreds of examples downtown alone. Pretty much every parking lot was once something better.

Omaha's bus system is abysmal. Please visit any country outside America and then tell me Omaha's public transportation is acceptable. Same with segregation - just because it is common in America does not mean it is acceptable. There is a better way of life and who says America has to be the retarded country?

The downtown condo projects are failing. Wall Street Tower failed because they couldn't get enough contracts to even build something 1/2 the size they were planning. Soma is deserted, Burlington can't get started, and the Brandeis (Enclave) is becoming all rentals.

Remember I was standing these things as a comparison to Detroit. Detroit is a failure. If Omaha wants to be a failure, it won't be hard. Just keep doing the things Detroit is doing. Or stick your fingers in your ears and sing la la la.

[McBain II]

Originally Posted by MountainMen

Where do I start? The reason I make these criticisms is not because I "HATE" Omaha but rather it is the opposite. I want to see things improve. Einstein said you can't solve a problem by using the same kind of thinking that created it, so the standard Omaha status quo thinking that has ruled the past 60 years isn't going to make this city any better.

While I certainly think your viewpoints are off base (as you'll see below) I do want to say that I understand why you feel this way, agree with the logic and respect that you care enough about Omaha to want improvement.

When did cigarette smoke become acceptable? The surgeon general stated it is fact there is no safe level of cigarette smoke. It is extremely toxic and there is WAY too much of it in this city. I can't go anywhere in Omaha without breathing polluted air from this stuff.

I really don't know how to respond to this one. I lived in Omaha for 15 years (and that was before the current law which banned smoking inside businesses) and never had complaints about cigarette pollution and I highly doubt that since I've been gone that Omaha has gone against national trends and seen more rather than less smokers.

Centers of vitality plowed over for parking lots? I can name hundreds of examples downtown alone. Pretty much every parking lot was once something better.

Like what? Jobbers Canyon is the only major loss I can think of and while that was a sad day in Omaha history, only a handful of those buildings were actually savable.

What about the good though? The Riverfront used to be a bunch of old dilapidated factories and now it's home to nice public areas with a relatively busy restaurant, and the Qwest Center. NoDo has the Slowdown district, the new stadium currently under construction and other development in the works. We're also seeing buildings like the Ford Lofts and the Greenhouse, former warehouses/factories that have been converted into condos and apartments.

Omaha's bus system is abysmal. Please visit any country outside America and then tell me Omaha's public transportation is acceptable. Same with segregation - just because it is common in America does not mean it is acceptable. There is a better way of life and who says America has to be the retarded country?

I agree on this and I'm a huge proponent of better public transportation in Omaha, up to and including a legitimate light rail system. While the current setup is severely lagging, we ARE making improvements there including the current effort to bring streetcars to Omaha.

The downtown condo projects are failing. Wall Street Tower failed because they couldn't get enough contracts to even build something 1/2 the size they were planning. Soma is deserted, Burlington can't get started, and the Brandeis (Enclave) is becoming all rentals.

No they're not. Riverfront Place is almost completely spoken for and the 2nd Riverfront Tower which is under construction already has deposits on many units. Brandeis was supposed to be partly rental from day one and SoMa is definitely far from "deserted". Wallstreet is also not dead and they have until November 8th to get something sorted out. They deserve a little slack as well as they came into the market right before the recession started, claiming them as a victim.

Remember I was standing these things as a comparison to Detroit. Detroit is a failure. If Omaha wants to be a failure, it won't be hard. Just keep doing the things Detroit is doing. Or stick your fingers in your ears and sing la la la.

Omaha is trending much more towards Denver rather than Detroit.

[vpandora]

From my own point of view, I still visit but post far less often because most of the new topics are ***** and blame sessions. Even positive posts or neutral inquiries quickly turn into *****/blame sessions.

Complaining bores me. I keep visiting this forum hoping for a chance to help someone out or have an interesting discussion, but usually I am disappointed. Also, I am not a very good topic starter...

[Raphael07]

^^^ What he said.

[TheBeagleLady]

I keep seeing this "horrible weather 90% of the time claim." I'd like to know what exactly constitues "horrible weather." Yeah, the extreme temps, wind and humidity are annoying but that's hardly 90% of the time. Are we talking days when it's not 70 degrees and sunny? Is that what "horrible" means?