The Underwood and Overhill Expressway

Today, like not a few days, I had the opportunity to pedal from midtown Omaha to the Missouri River and back to midtown. Along the way, my mind wandered to a car trip I need to make tomorrow--from midtown way out to far, far southwest Omaha. I may even drive on the West Dodge Expressway.

Which got me thinking. The purpose of the WDE is to reduce congestion at Omaha's busiest intersection (114th & Dodge) and generally ease the commute from Central to West Omaha and beyond. Maybe I'm still suffering the aftershocks of watching "Beyond the Motor City" the other night, but building stronger, faster, higher automobile-only expressways to the suburbs seems so 20th century to me. Shouldn't we be more focused on multi-modal transportation options that interweave Omahans together, rather than car-exclusive chutes that fling us further apart?

And, I don't know what the final cost of the WDE was, but a quick Google search shows it was budgeted for $100 million. Compare that to the cost to complete the initial 20 miles of bike lanes now underway: $600,000. And that wasn't even paid for by the City (i.e., by us)--all the funding came from grants and donations.

Which brings me to the Underwood and Overhill Expressway. One of the major objections I hear from folks reluctant to start bicycling more in Omaha is that the city is so hilly! Riding around it nearly every day, I can't argue with that one. For instance, coming west out of downtown north of Dodge, once you ascend to the top of the hill on 40th, you're plunged back down into the valley of Saddle Creek. Then up again to the summit at 50th, then down again to Happy Hollow. Then up a third time to Fairacres/64th-ish. We might as well name all the storied peaks, like in Le Tour--but instead of Tourmalet, Alpe d'Huez, and Galibier, how about (all with proper French accent, please) Cathedral, Dundee, and Vieux Riche (Old Money)?

But I digress--back to the Underwood and Overhill Expressway. Imagine a connecting bike/ped pathway near California/Underwood streets that erased the dips between these HC peaks and made the trip from 40th to 50th to 64th a coast-able level grade! Perhaps something ala the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge over the Missouri--a graceful, suspended, elevated ribbon of commuting and recreational cyclists and pedestrians. Suddenly, one of the major impediments to cycling in Omaha is greatly diminished, all the while encouraging development in the heart of the city.

How much would it cost? Well, the best figure I found for the Bob Kerrey bridge is $22 million. Triple that to make 3 sections, and you get $66 million--still only 2/3 the cost of the WDE--leaving $34 million left over for other multi-modal transportation projects (assuming you were trying to match the cost of the WDE, of course). A bargain!

Now, I'm not going to the City Council with my Underwood and Overhill Expressway idea yet (it could use some fleshing out and the cost estimates are a bit, um, back of the envelope, let's say), but the Omaha metropolitan area has clearly found funding for transportation and infrastructure projects it deems worthy in the past, and chances are that trend will continue. Omaha has made significant strides in encouraging bicycle and pedestrian traffic with its trails system, the 20-mile bike lane plan, and some great new plans currently in development. Now's the time to come together to think big and creatively on what we want Omaha to be and how transportation and infrastructure help make that possible. Now's our chance to make Omaha a more livable community.

A few links:
http://passthepotatoes.com/
http://rallyomaha.ning.com/

And a link to a previous OmahaBikes blog entry with a longer link list:
http://bikeomaha.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-is-omaha-bikes-reading.html

Bike Omaha Red Route

City crews have already started painting and striping the first route of the Bike Omaha bike lane network.  Here is what the Benson (Red) Route looked like "Before" they got started.  Omaha Bikes will have an "After" video of this route once it is finished.

Bike Omaha Benson (Red) Route - BEFORE from Omaha Bikes on Vimeo.

This video show the Bike Omaha Benson (Red) route before any work was done to add bike lane markings and sign-age. Lanes are being painted now, and we will have an "After" video up once the signs and paint are completed on this route.

The 15-year report, unlike its two predecessors, examines a range of efforts to increase bicycling and walking in the United States. Programs at the Federal, State, and local levels are included, as well as case studies on best practices. Finally, the report makes recommendations for research, policy, and other measures that can be taken to meet the goals of the original study.

VOICE Petition for Better Transportation Planning in Omaha

Omaha's pattern of development has hampered attempts to create a system of transportation that supports mass transit and travel by bicycle or foot. The sprawl forces most people into cars for all their travel, weakening our communities, damaging our health and the environment, and draining our city's budget. We need to change this.

VOICE is a non-partisan group dedicated to creating a more inclusive, just, transparent, sustainable, and culturally vibrant Omaha by actively supporting leaders, policies, and projects that advance this vision.

The organization has created a petition calling for smarter land use and transportation planning in our city. I hope you will take a look at it and add you name to the list of those calling for a better Omaha. We need to make sure our voice is heard as Omaha creates its new transportation master plan.

Register now for the Urban Omaha – The Ultimate Adventure Race on June 5^th!!

Click here to register today!!!

Department of Roads Survey

As you may be aware, NDOR is conducting a survey for the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP).

Here's a link to the survey. Stop complaining and take action! Speak up!

ALL HANDS ON DECK!

The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) is reviewed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) every 4 years.  Part of this review process involves a public meeting where the community can voice it's concerns about MAPA.  The public meeting is next Monday March 15 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the MAPA offices, 2222 Cuming Street.  This is a good chance for YOU to give feedback to MAPA.


While your at it, take a look at the MAPA Beltway Study and give them your feedback on that proposed project as well.


Here is the official notice.

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will be in Omaha March 15 and 16 for a federal certification review of the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA), which is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Omaha-Council Bluffs region.  The review will cover MAPA’s transportation planning process and the effectiveness of that process.

A public input meeting has been scheduled for Monday evening, March 15 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the MAPA offices, 2222 Cuming Street in Omaha.

Major elements to be discussed include organization and management of the planning process, planning agreements and the cooperative process, planning factors, public involvement, project selection, and financial constraint. Products of the planning process – The Long Range Plan, TIP, and Unified Work program – will also be discussed.

If you are unable to attend this meeting and would like to comment, please send written comments to Paul Mullen, MAPA Executive Director at:

  

Metropolitan Area Planning Agency

2222 Cuming Street

Omaha, Nebraska 68102-4328

or

 e-mail paul_mullen@mapacog.org

slow down, and give your 2 cents

Went to Barnes&Noble at Oak View a few weeks ago and perused the magazines looking for something to broaden my horizons. Bought and read Good, Issue 018, Winter 2010, http://www.good.is/issues/issue-018.

The theme of issue 018 is "Slow Down". It contains a good cross section of thinking in, and about, the slow movement, http://www.slowmovement.com/.

One thing I've noticed: the more I commute by bike, the slower and more relaxed I drive a car. I average about 30 mph city driving (mileage/engine time) and about 12 mph commuting by bike. Those who average 20 mph biking are not commuting, they are racing. If you want to commute by bike, figure about three times the travel time of a car for a comfortable, non hurried commute.

One of the benefits of biking not often mentioned is the necessity to slow down. With most people's lives too full of stuff, speeding by car to somewhere because they didn't plan enough time to get there, a slower lifestyle connected through commuting is healthy for the mind and the body.

The second article in Good, Pushing the Limits, discusses Portland, Oregon's assault on urban sprawl, what it has produced, what is at stake. Next to improving Omaha's biking infrastructure and changing the car-centric level of service for transportation, a sustainable urban design is key.

Urban Form and Transportation(pdf) is Omaha by Design's draft proposal for new guidelines. Active transportation (biking and walking) starts on page 24. One problem I see is that goals for moving cars more efficiently (car-centric level of service) are at odds with active transport. Car transportation (Leavenworth for example) has to be slowed down (lane diets) and made more expensive (gas prices) to make active transportation more attractive and increase participation.

Comments are still being taken on the proposal, click contacts on http://www.environmentomaha.com/. Please read at least the Active Transport section of Urban Form and Transportation, if not the entire document, and give suggestions and encouragement.