Andrew, you are so right about the streetcar. There is a veil over the eyes of those who are proposing it. That veil is the same one that is blinding the eyes of big government which is not preparing our fiscal future for our children and grandchildren.
Omaha's downtown area desperately needs renewal. When you get away from the pretty glass high-rises, the area is industrial/dismal. And there's a jail. Right smack dab in the middle of DOWNTOWN. There are also old, poorly maintained industrial buildings turned into apartments and apartment buildings that look like they might have been built in the 40's and 50's (if not earlier). And some of those industrial/apartment buildings, it's hard to tell which is worse, them OR the jail.
Dropping a streetcar in the middle of that might give downtown Omaha a seedy San Francisco vibe, but... seriously, it's already looking seedy (and outdated!) enough.
Omaha would do better to take a good hard look at their property tax structure, and at how they might be mismanaging their budget, and find ways to cut the bureaucratic red-tape and lower the cost of owning and improving property in the blighted areas around the highrises, so that property owners can afford to do that and are more highly motivated to make it happen.
Andrew, you are so right about the streetcar. There is a veil over the eyes of those who are proposing it. That veil is the same one that is blinding the eyes of big government which is not preparing our fiscal future for our children and grandchildren.
Omaha's downtown area desperately needs renewal. When you get away from the pretty glass high-rises, the area is industrial/dismal. And there's a jail. Right smack dab in the middle of DOWNTOWN. There are also old, poorly maintained industrial buildings turned into apartments and apartment buildings that look like they might have been built in the 40's and 50's (if not earlier). And some of those industrial/apartment buildings, it's hard to tell which is worse, them OR the jail.
Dropping a streetcar in the middle of that might give downtown Omaha a seedy San Francisco vibe, but... seriously, it's already looking seedy (and outdated!) enough.
Omaha would do better to take a good hard look at their property tax structure, and at how they might be mismanaging their budget, and find ways to cut the bureaucratic red-tape and lower the cost of owning and improving property in the blighted areas around the highrises, so that property owners can afford to do that and are more highly motivated to make it happen.