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The city of Omaha launched new initiatives to help ease stress on businesses along the streetcar corridor.Streetcar Impact Alliance members met with the mayor’s office Wednesday afternoon, as discussions on what can be done to help them continue. Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. said the heaviest construction is being done now. “The work underway is the largest reconstruction and relocation of 100-year-old-plus utilities in Omaha history,” Ewing said. “It involves replacing waterlines installed in the 1880s, relining sewers of a similar age, upgrading gas lines, and increasing the capacity of electrical and telecom systems to support future development work. There’s no doubt there is an impact and disruption given this kind of deep work.”Ewing said now is the time to be supporting businesses along the streetcar corridor, both with the city’s new initiatives and citizens’ help. “We will be providing parking for $1 a day at garages for route business employees and customers,” Ewing said. Those garages include:1516 Douglas St.: 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends for validated businesses that sign up for the program899 Farnam St.: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays only for validated businesses that sign up for the programA third garage will run a similar program for the general public. It will be $1 at the garage gate, $3 for event pre-pay, and $5 at the door. 1215 Capitol Ave.: 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends when there are no eventsA validated parking program is one of three requests the Streetcar Impact Alliance asked the city for three weeks ago. “We’re going to chop this is up as a win for sure,” Clark Ross, owner of Mercury and founder of the alliance, said. “Parking is a huge issue for Omaha, particularly downtown, particularly with all of the construction going on.”Ewing said they’re also working to make it easier to navigate construction.”The city commits to continued updates of digital wayfinding through Google, Apple Maps, and Waze, which are updated on a daily basis on lane or road closures,” Ewing said. “Improving communications, we are actively working on several fronts. Text message notifications about construction stops and starts.”You can sign up for those text alerts starting Thursday, March 19, on the streetcar website.The mayor said he has also asked streetcar partner and construction crews to regularly check safety and cleanliness in construction zones. “That was another concern we had with them,” Ross said. “The walkways being blocked, debris everywhere, pedestrians being hit by cars.”However, Ross said their biggest concern is how to survive without any financial help. “If we don’t have money soon and we’re going to start seeing businesses closed, and we’re also going to see residents start to leave because they’re just as unhappy living here as we are trying to do business here,” Ross said. Ewing said the city is searching for other options to offer relief, but the city cannot assist directly.”Having talked to the city attorney a number of times, that is illegal from a state statute standpoint,” Ewing said. Ross said the Streetcar Impact Alliance’s next step is to go to the governor’s office to advocate for some kind of state-level funding to make it until construction is done. Ewing said construction is ahead of schedule, and conditions should improve later this spring. Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
The city of Omaha launched new initiatives to help ease stress on businesses along the streetcar corridor.
Streetcar Impact Alliance members met with the mayor’s office Wednesday afternoon, as discussions on what can be done to help them continue. Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. said the heaviest construction is being done now.
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“The work underway is the largest reconstruction and relocation of 100-year-old-plus utilities in Omaha history,” Ewing said. “It involves replacing waterlines installed in the 1880s, relining sewers of a similar age, upgrading gas lines, and increasing the capacity of electrical and telecom systems to support future development work. There’s no doubt there is an impact and disruption given this kind of deep work.”
Ewing said now is the time to be supporting businesses along the streetcar corridor, both with the city’s new initiatives and citizens’ help.
“We will be providing parking for $1 a day at garages for route business employees and customers,” Ewing said.
Those garages include:
- 1516 Douglas St.: 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends for validated businesses that sign up for the program
- 899 Farnam St.: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays only for validated businesses that sign up for the program
A third garage will run a similar program for the general public. It will be $1 at the garage gate, $3 for event pre-pay, and $5 at the door.
- 1215 Capitol Ave.: 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends when there are no events
A validated parking program is one of three requests the Streetcar Impact Alliance asked the city for three weeks ago.
“We’re going to chop this is up as a win for sure,” Clark Ross, owner of Mercury and founder of the alliance, said. “Parking is a huge issue for Omaha, particularly downtown, particularly with all of the construction going on.”
Ewing said they’re also working to make it easier to navigate construction.
“The city commits to continued updates of digital wayfinding through Google, Apple Maps, and Waze, which are updated on a daily basis on lane or road closures,” Ewing said. “Improving communications, we are actively working on several fronts. Text message notifications about construction stops and starts.”
You can sign up for those text alerts starting Thursday, March 19, on the streetcar website.
The mayor said he has also asked streetcar partner and construction crews to regularly check safety and cleanliness in construction zones.
“That was another concern we had with them,” Ross said. “The walkways being blocked, debris everywhere, pedestrians being hit by cars.”
However, Ross said their biggest concern is how to survive without any financial help.
“If we don’t have money soon and we’re going to start seeing businesses closed, and we’re also going to see residents start to leave because they’re just as unhappy living here as we are trying to do business here,” Ross said.
Ewing said the city is searching for other options to offer relief, but the city cannot assist directly.
“Having talked to the city attorney a number of times, that is illegal from a state statute standpoint,” Ewing said.
Ross said the Streetcar Impact Alliance’s next step is to go to the governor’s office to advocate for some kind of state-level funding to make it until construction is done.
Ewing said construction is ahead of schedule, and conditions should improve later this spring.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
