Metro is reaching its final milestone in developing an “ambitious” plan that will shape the future of Omaha’s transit.
Armed with feedback from nearly 20 community meetings, the agency that oversees city transit will soon choose one of three scenarios to guide Metro over the next five to 10 years.
The three scenarios, which were described by Metro officials during a Facebook Live Forum hosted by the North Omaha Neighborhood Alliance on Wednesday, would cost significantly more than Metro’s current budget.
Each scenario would cost about $52 million a year to run, said Metro CEO Lauren Cencic. That’s about 58% more than Metro currently spends.
“Any of those scenarios would require incremental progression to get there,” Cencic said, “so all of those are kind of ambitious in nature, but they really set that goal for ourselves as a region in the extent that we would like to access.”
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Wednesday’s virtual forum was the last of four community meetings in March intended to gather feedback and shape final decisions on which of the three scenarios will move forward.
The process was part of the MetroNEXT initiative, the agency’s year-long planning effort to improve public transit in the Omaha area. MetroNEXT began in 2021 with 14 community meetings that brought hundreds of Omahans to share their ideas and priorities with the agency.
Metro used the feedback to draft the three scripts.
Each scenario emphasizes a different strategy: improving user amenities, strengthening existing bus routes or extending service to new areas.
The final plan could include parts of all three, said Evan Schweitz, Metro’s senior transit planner.
Scenario A focuses on modernizing the physical infrastructure at bus stops and train stations. This includes the study and implementation of rapid transit lines along 24th Street, 72nd Street, and the North Beltline, which is an abandoned rail corridor connecting North Omaha to the Midtown area.
The scenario would double the number of bus shelters, add real-time arrival displays at 50 bus stops, and open a new park-and-ride lot in North Omaha.
This scenario has the largest increase in fast service hours, Schweitz said.
Scenario A addresses many of Metro’s main goals, achieving the best results in terms of improved travel experience and sustainability with a focus on high ridership.
Scenario B prioritizes improvements to existing bus schedules, adding 15-minute daytime frequency to five of Metro’s major routes. This also includes operating more buses in the evening, seven days a week, as well as increasing the amount of service provided at weekends.
This scenario has the greatest potential to promote equity in the region through improvements in commute times and better connections on Metro’s network, officials said.
“Having routes that run every 15 minutes all day is really a game-changer by allowing people to have a more flexible schedule,” Schweitz said. “Whether they’re not working the typical 8-to-5 shift or need to travel to other destinations, not just rush hour.”
Scenario C explores an expansion of Metro services to new areas, which includes piloting three new flexible shared-ride service areas, often referred to as microtransit.
It would also add a Fort Street Expressway and a local bus route on 144th Street. This would increase service to Eppley Airfield to seven days a week.
Of the three scenarios, this one scores the most moderate for its impact on MetroNEXT goals, largely because it extends service into areas of low potential ridership.
Comments during Wednesday’s forum included support for parts of Metro’s plans that were included in all three scenarios: efforts to restore pre-COVID transit schedules, permanently fund the “K- Metro’s 12 Rides Free” and adopt a new policy that would allow MOBY customers to ride the bus for free.
In 2019, Omaha spent about $40 per capita (or person) on transit funding. That compares to $55 per capita in Lincoln, $67 in Kansas City, and $73 in Des Moines.
“As a region, we have to decide what the right amount of investment in transit is,” Cencic said. “In a lot of these scenarios that we’re about to unveil, there are quite a few improvements outside of our current budget, but we think it’s important to see what that would look like.”
Omahans who were unable to attend Metro meetings can still share their thoughts with the agency via an online survey which will close on Friday.
Feedback from meetings and polls will help shape a final script for the MetroNEXT plan, which will likely be presented to the public in April.
“At the end of the day, we want a plan that we can roll up our sleeves and get to work on,” Cencic said.
The 10 Busiest Intersections in Omaha
10) 72nd and Grover
Ranking 2016: 9
2018 vehicles per day: 64,000
Traffic trend: Drop
This intersection, just north of Interstate 80, has seen traffic drop over the past two years. But the totals are up significantly from 2014, when it ranked as the region’s 40th busiest intersection.
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9) 108th and maple
Ranking 2016: 14
2018 vehicles per day: 65 100
Traffic trend: Growth
The intersection of 108th Street and West Maple Road is a gateway to and from the freeway. It attracts 16,300 more vehicles per day than the intersection of 120th and West Maple.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
8) 86th Street/Cass Street and Dodge
Ranking 2016: 8
2018 vehicles per day: 65,900
Traffic trend: Down too
This one held its place as the eighth busiest intersection.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
7) 78th and dodge
Ranking 2016: 5
2018 vehicles per day: 66,200
Traffic trend: Descending
Traffic counts are down on the stretch of Dodge Street east of Omaha’s busiest intersection and on intersections including 86th, 84th, 78th, 72nd and 69th streets. It’s still Dodge Street – they’re still busy intersections. Just not as busy.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
6) 144th and Industrial Road
Ranking 2016: 26
2018 vehicles per day: 69 150
Traffic trend: Significantly increase
Traffic at this intersection often backs off and the number has increased by 14,450 over the two-year period.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
5) 72nd and Pacific
Ranking 2016: 3
2018 vehicles per day: 72,300
Traffic trend: fall too
The intersection of 72nd and Pacific ranked third but is now fifth.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
4) 72nd and dodge
Ranking 2016: 2
2018 vehicles per day: 75,850
Traffic trend: Drop
The intersection of 72nd and Dodge Street is always very busy. But the figures show that traffic has dropped a little in recent years. In 2016, it ranked Omaha’s second-highest intersection. With the daily vehicle total down to 7,750 — and with traffic picking up from southwest Omaha — 72nd and Dodge slipped a few spots.
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3) 132nd and L/Industrial Road
Ranking 2016: 7
2018 vehicles per day: 84,250
Traffic trend: Increases a lot
The 132nd and L Street/Industrial Road intersection is not far behind its counterpart a mile east at 120th and L, with only 500 fewer vehicles per day. But its increase is larger — increasing by 13,500 vehicles per day over the two-year period. It attracts a lot of traffic from Millard and Sarpy County beyond, as well as traffic from West Omaha and the West Center Road corridor. In 2013, the Streetsblog website named it the worst intersection in America for pedestrian issues.
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2) 120th and L
Ranking 2016: 4
2018 vehicles per day: 84,750
Traffic trend: Increases a lot
A mile-long stretch of L Street/Industrial Road — including the intersections at 132nd and 144th Street — attracts significantly more traffic. Traffic at 120th and L Street increased by 10,200 vehicles per day over the two-year period, according to MAPA figures. This is an increase of almost 14%. It is an important corridor through southwest Omaha. At 120th Street, the intersection is essentially an entry and exit point for Interstates 80 and 680.
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
1) 90th and dodge
Ranking 2016: 1
2018 vehicles per day: 106,900
Traffic trend: Growth
It is Omaha’s busiest intersection, as it has been since the construction of the West Dodge Elevated Freeway, which solved traffic problems at 114th Street and West Dodge Road. When this $100 million project took place, it was expected that the busiest intersection would move from Dodge to 90th Street. It has – 90th Street and West Dodge Road now have more traffic than 114th and West Dodge before the elevated freeway was built.
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