I just got back from the State of the University address, and Harvey Perlman talked about the possibility of turning the old Whittier Jr. High School into a “Nebraska Innovation Center” that would be a kind of think-tank for research projects and partnerships with business. At this point, it’s just a dream, but it got me thinking about what changes are likely to come about in Lincoln in the next, say, 10 years?
I see the university expanding down Vine Street, definitely. I would like to see more development in town rather than stretching outward, and I think that the Antelope Valley Project is a fantastic start to that.
Will there be more schools? Will we ever get another large theater? Will the event center ever get built? Will 27th street be widened again?
I hope at some point the city is able to widen a north-south thoroughfare through Lincoln. A logical choice is 27th Street but the country club neighborhood has successfully thwarted those efforts.
If not 27th, then 48th would be a way to go. I’m guessing more developement out south, annexation of Cheney, and more stuff along 84th street, clear up to Cornhusker. And just because I can, I’m going to hope for an awesome set of improvements/expansion for the zoo.
* UNL beginning to spread into the (current) Antelope Valley floodplain, with concrete plans in place for more buildings in the future
* A brand new arena that looks completely different from anything proposed so far
* A partially-completed South Beltway
* Extensive housing and retail developments north of I-80, including a theater
* Serious talk of making Highway 2 three lanes
* Further stratification of the community into far-south, far-north, and city core “cliques”.
I could see extending 180 to Hwy 2 and widening 48th street, providing two quick ways across town.
I am somewhat biased against widening 27th street anymore near Vine because I live half a block from it. Traffic is horrible at certain times of the day, though.
Something that’s been bugging me a LOT lately is the fact that moose’s tooth juts right out against the sidewalk- it needs to be taken in some, even if it’s at the expense of the city. They would only need to cut a few feet of retail space, but I’ve seen so many kids nearly get moved over by someone turning east onto vine from 27th northbound, as you can’t see someone entering the crosswalk until you are on top of them and everyone is always in such a hurry. Unfortunately, it will probably take someone getting seriously injured or killed to get that changed.
I sit on the fence with how Lincoln will look in 10 years. Unfortunately with limited economic growth in recent years, I fear Lincoln will become a commuter city for Omaha. If changes and shake ups happen soon at the local and county level we could see positive growth patterns allowing for additional tax dollars to be spent in areas that need it. I would like to see the following things change the face of Lincoln:
* Lincoln becomes a lover of Live Music and we can once again hold concerts and other musically oriented events pertaining to the likes of young and old.
* Lincoln becomes a haven for youth and club sports, come on people, we have the drive and the talent now we need facilities to organize, Including Parks & Rec to bring these events in.
* Lincoln introduces a nationally sanctioned speedway or motorplex for some type of auto racing and catches on with the current trends.
* Lincoln will host a Bowl Game (if Boise can do it, we certainly can)
* Lincoln finally have a finger on the pulse of its youth and vibrance making this city attractive to so many diverse people and businesses.
ROADS:
*27th & 48th: Something must be done about north-south travel. I think both 27th and 48th need to be widened.
*56th: And for crying-out-loud that engineer’s nightmare at 56th-to-Cotner and O streets has to be returned to the way it was intended (why in the world was that mess created there and who’s idea was it anyways???)… one of the stupidest street-improvements I’ve ever seen. Navigating through there is a headache!
*Warlick, 14th and Old Cheney desperately needs to be improved. People die there.
AUTO-SPORTS:
*Lincoln needs a drag strip. I want to run my grocery-getter car to see how fast it will do the 1/4 mile :D
TAXES and GOV:
*The tax rate in NE is driving many people into poverty (at least I think so… heh) and lots of people are fleeing the state. The tax burden must be lowered. Last time I checked (about 7 years ago) I was paying out a total of 31% of my monetary increase in taxes. My co-worker was paying in the 40% range (we figured it out at the same time to settle a dispute with another co-worker). That’s ridiculous and a sign of abuse and serious waste by those in power. When taxes near 50% the people are literally slaves to the state and are in bondage. I’m no economist, political-know-it-all or money-guru but I think everything can be run with a TOTAL tax rate of 10-20% (without all of the tax on top of tax and cleverly hidden taxes).
*I think the unicameral system in NE should be done away with. It’s not effective or beneficial to the people when the balancing branch of the gov (the people) are either too busy or untrained to be able to properly check the Unicameral. It’s bad for Nebraska (:D). Super-lobbyist (and those who cave to them and those who sick them on us and the political leaders) are destroying the system and us.
I’m starting to feel the same way about the unicameral. It may have worked when it was introduced, but with term limits a reality, we’re going to need a body with less changeover to balance the current unicameral.
Unfortunately, like a lot of other things here, once we think we’ve got the best of something, we’re really reluctant to take a good hard look at it and ask “is this really working?”
Speaking of new projects - there is a new coffee house/cafe coming to the north bottoms neighborhood. It will be located at the corner of 14th & New Hampshire, just across the tracks in that old brick warehouse. This should be a great addition to the north bottoms and the university.
Where the heck is 14th and New Hampshire? Does sound cool though.
I wish there was a coffee house near the unicameral. The closest ones to my place are in downtown. That 6 block walk kills me (j/k). Seriously though, it would be nice to have one there and I bet they’d get a lot of service given the proximity of the city/cty bldg, the unicameral, and apartments loaded with students. There is a coho branch nearby but no place to sit.
Speaking of new projects - there is a new coffee house/cafe coming to the north bottoms neighborhood. It will be located at the corner of 14th & New Hampshire, just across the tracks in that old brick warehouse. This should be a great addition to the north bottoms and the university.
I’m surprised no one has opened up a coffeeshop in that area before now.
My husband and I put in an offer on a house there once, but got outbid by someone paying cash. The house was beautiful and well maintained- we drove by the other day and it looks like it’s being run into the ground like many of the other houses in the neighborhood. So sad. :(
Eliminating the unicameral would be wrong. Nebraska is the only State that still has a unicameral. I grew up my whole life in University Place. 48th St. would be the most logical thourghfare to be widened. 56th Street would entail far to many complications especially around Cotner Blvd.
Downtown Lincoln will be filled with parking garages and office buildings. All of the small, funky friendly shops will be gone and replaced with trendy fast food places. The bars that now exist will be replaced with national chains. It will be boring, but the politicians in charge will be proud of themselves and how they priced everyone with little money from going downtown and filthying up their upper middle class image.
Traffic is horrible at certain times of the day, though.
