Lincoln is coming off a couple huge local projects, now that the Antelope Valley Project and Arena are finished. That raises the question: what's next?
In terms of big, sexy projects I hope the South (and East!) Beltway get underway sooner rather than later. But there are larger, less sexy needs we need to take care of as well. We have a bunch of existing infrastructure around town that needs to be taken care of. Fortunately, Mayor Beutler has announced plans to tackle a bunch of extra sidewalk and roads projects in 2014, and he will announce an even larger plan in the spring. Now although I have a hunch the latter could come with extra tax dollars attached, 2014's projects are "free" in the sense that the money is already covered. That's great news for those Lincolnites who have been putting up with rumbly streets and crumbly sidewalks.
Now if I could just get City leaders to back the idea of city-wide fiber to the home. Anybody?
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Both are great ideas. But the beltway is the priority in my opinion. I’m not even much of a commuter, but its clear that having that sort of infrastructure in place will be essential for continued growth of the city.
I don’t know that I’d ever really traverse a south beltway, but getting the truck traffic off Highway 2 would be splendid.
On the east side, I’d almost be tempted to turn 148th into a beltway, as it’s already paved and has a bridge over the interstate which could be turned into an exit with ramps. Probably too far out.
Beltway’s can be a benefit to a community with core traffic problems. However the drawbacks often outweigh the benefits. Urban sprawl continues to plague Lincoln and Lancaster county. Infrastructure maintenance costs continue to rise at an exponential rate. Too often beltways cause growth to leapfrog areas and in-turn put stress on other city services and emergency service times/availability.
Don’t rush to the beltway being the answer simply due to increased truck traffic. The South Beltway may be nice to cut truck traffic in half… but at what cost to the city? Right now it’s good to have the land in place and plan in place. But look at what effects the JFK Freeway caused on fort crook rd businesses… now it’s a ghost town. After studying urban planning and community/regional management it seems that a beltway has never been a good idea the past 30 years on healthy community growth.
To me, it’s not “simply due to the increased truck traffic.” It’s about safety. I know it’s cliche, but how many people must die? I have kids who are going to be driving in the next 10 years, or so, and they will be driving on, and crossing Hwy 2 regularly.
Maybe there are other ways to make Hwy 2 safer, but reducing the truck traffic has to be near the top of the list.
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