aprilmay2021 - 13

N A SUNNY DAY IN MIDNovember, palpable energy
filled the air as Omaha Metro Transit (Omaha Metro)
staff, 50 volunteer community transit ambassadors
and transit enthusiasts alike
(safely) gathered in downtown Omaha, Neb., along
the Dodge Street Corridor to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of a
brand-new transit service: Omaha
Rapid Bus Transit (ORBT), the region's first introduction to bus rapid
transit (BRT) and one of the most
significant transit investments for
the area in decades.
" We had a lot of riders that hadn't
been on transit before at all, or hadn't
been on in years, " recalled Jason Rose,
communications and community relations manager, Omaha Metro. " People were just amazed [by] the system. "
The service launch followed a
prerecorded virtual ribbon cutting
ceremony that featured videos of key
project stakeholders, along with an
in-person media-only ribbon cutting
followed by a media-only first ride.
While opening day went as virtual
as possible, Omaha Metro still encouraged people to come out and see
ORBT for themselves (while practicing CDC and local safety guidelines).
" It was exactly what I had hoped
it would be. And the fact that I got to
do the ribbon cutting myself and be
on that first ride in an official role was
more than I hoped for, " Cencic added,
reflecting on her initial role with the
ORBT project as a project manager
and then coming back to Omaha
Metro after a stint in Los Angeles to
serve as Omaha Metro's CEO.
Even after the ribbons had been
cut and opening weekend came and
went, the excitement and enthusiasm
for ORBT lives on not just at Omaha
Metro Transit but within the community, as well.
" Just this month, I've had several
presentation requests [asking to give] a
status update on ORBT, " said Cencic.
" It's an ongoing thing, even after
we've launched. [There's] this really
palpable excitement and energy, "
Rose added.

Photos by Metro Transit Omaha

Bolstering Connectivity

Drumming up this excitement took
work-lots of it.
The ORBT project dates back to
2014 when Omaha Metro partnered
with the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) to conduct
the Central Omaha Transit Alternatives Analysis, which examined
ways to improve an under-connected corridor while bringing together
the regional transit network to bolster mobility and help employment
growth and economic development.
The analysis led to identifying
two locally preferred alternatives,
one being a nine-mile BRT route
from the Westroads Mall through
downtown along Dodge Street, and
the other being a modern streetcar
route. BRT was identified as the preferred concept since it was the fastest
and easiest to implement, and coordinated well with other city and regional plans, explains Curt Simon,
who served as the previous executive
director of Omaha Metro throughout the majority of the ORBT project.
Cencic adds BRT along the
Dodge Street Corridor also allowed
the agency to take the first step in
providing a better regional connection to bring people to the downtown core area and " build on that
community connectivity. "
" BRT was seen as this really
important piece for us because it
intersected with almost every single one of the lines on our map. We
called it connecting the dots at the
time, " Cencic said. " It connected
Westroads Mall on the western
end through the University of Nebraska Medical Center, University
of Nebraska Omaha and then all the
major employers downtown kind of
all in the straight line. "
In addition to improved connectivity, the BRT solution aimed to improve mobility by expanding the B
Cycle Program with better station
connections, ensuring consistent
traffic flow with queue jumps and
Transit Signal Priority (TSP) and
balancing parking availability, all
while supporting economic growth
in the region.

APRIL/MAY 2021 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit |

http://www.MassTransitmag.com

aprilmay2021

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