As cities increase the availability of transportation modes, especially transit and in downtown urban core settings, a common investment is the building of a multimodal transportation center. Such a facility is designed to connect multiple modes of transportation such as buses, trains, bicycles, and pedestrians into a convenient hub that promotes efficient transit. These facilities have been around U.S. cities for a long time, as the first railroad stations were in essence multimodal stations where local transit and intercity passenger rail connected. The concept saw a resurgence in the late 20th century as cities, seeing the effects of how freeways and parking lots gutted downtowns a few decades before, returned to a focus and prioritization on transit and active transportation modes that could promote more development and better land use.
One of the earliest modern multimodal transportation centers that I remember visiting about 25 years ago was the Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center, built as a new facility on the east edge of downtown on the new Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line to Dallas. The Fort Worth “ITC” included several bus bays for a local transit hub and access to two Amtrak routes and now includes TexRail commuter rail service directly to the DFW airport. Other cities will reuse existing railroad facilities. Continuing with the Texas examples, Dallas Union Station is another multimodal transportation center example, using the original building built in 1916, which currently serves Amtrak intercity passenger rail, Trinity Railway Express commuter rail, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail, the new streetcar, and local buses.
Dallas Union Station from the Reunion Tower
So, what does this mean for Omaha? Have we been planning for a multimodal transportation center, do we need one, or should we jump on the bandwagon of this urban transit trend? First, Omaha has essentially had a transit hub on 16th Street since it was rebuilt as a downtown “mall” in 1983. Although the amount of bus routes has gradually been reduced over the years, it was intended to act as a transit center complete with wide sidewalks and heated bus shelters. The narrow streets and conflicts with automobiles kept the urban mall from realizing its full potential (unlike the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver, which was built at about the same time and is open only to its downtown circulator buses and is currently being rebuilt to continue that purpose).
There were a few proposals in the early 2000s for a multimodal transportation center in Omaha. As part of Metro Area Transit’s “hub and spoke” plan to redesign the transit system, a hub was planned for near 24th & Dodge to include a children’s daycare.
Another effort that I was involved with was the concept of renovating the Burlington Station into a multimodal transportation center, which heated up in 2003-2004. The Burlington Station concept illustration is something I drew to show the potential use as a rail center (possible light rail, commuter rail, and intercity rail) with streetcar and bus connections. The building had been for sale for several years and was at the perfect location for a transit center – it was adjacent to the Amtrak station structure and proposals at that time called for a streetcar along 10th Street between the zoo and downtown and a commuter rail line between Omaha and Lincoln was being studied. The only issue was the lack of proximity to central downtown where the majority of transit routes converge, although the streetcar connection and/or bus circulator(s) would provide a solution to make the connections.
Do you remember the “retro buses” of the early 2000s and the Red, Green, Yellow, and Blue circulator routes? As you may know, the Burlington Station ended up being purchased by a news media company (after going through a short phase of a private condominium proposal), although there is still space to the north (between the Burlington Station and Union Station/Durham Museum) or to the west (reusing the postal complex site) for a multimodal transportation center in this area, which could still be on a future streetcar extension.
Which brings us to the more official plans for an Omaha multimodal transportation center. The Downtown Omaha 2030 Master Plan, which was adopted in 2010, was the first plan focused on downtown Omaha since the 1974 Downtown Master Plan. The plan can be downloaded here:
https://urbanplanning.cityofomaha.org/images/stories/Master%20Plan%20Elements/downtown_omaha_2030_web.pdf
The plan contained a chapter on Mobility Elements (Chapter 9) and included a concept for transit routes and facilities. The plan noted:
“In addition to the streetcar lines that were mentioned in the Framework Elements chapter, the Plan also identifies Downtown as a hub for future light rail and/or commuter rail lines. The former Burlington Station would be converted into a Multi-Modal Center that would accommodate commuter and/or light rail, streetcars, inter-city bus, MAT bus, taxis, jitneys and bicycles.
“A preferred location has also been identified for a new MAT Transit Center. This facility is currently located on 16th Street between Dodge and Harney, and accommodates approximately 355 buses per day. The new site would be located farther to the north on 16th Street, adjacent to I-480 (on State of Nebraska right-of-way). This new site could accommodate streetcars, busses, and bicycles (see concept plan), and is centrally located between the Downtown Core, Creighton University, and the Events District. Relocating the transit center to the north would allow for the redesign of 16th Street between Dodge and Jackson, something identified during the Visioning Process as a high priority.”
Downtown Omaha Plan Transit Map
There have been a few transit developments since that downtown plan was completed, including the launch of the ORBT line, Omaha’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, the Burlington Station being turned into a television station, and the construction of the first streetcar line. Which brings us to a more recent plan that includes downtown Omaha.
The Omaha Chamber of Commerce’s Greater Omaha Urban Core Strategic Plan, completed in 2022, calls for a multimodal transportation center downtown. The plan can be downloaded here: https://www.omahachamber.org/connectgo/resources/
From the Urban Core Strategic Plan Future Transit Section, Page 63 – purple lines are bus routes, red lines are streetcar routes, and black lines are light rail/commuter rail routes
The plan notes, “Over time, as the Urban Core builds on its momentum, additional modes of transportation will be necessary. These long-range investments could include fixed-rail transit options such as light rail, commuter rail, and inter-city/high speed rail. Light rail could help connect neighborhoods along the periphery of the metro area to the Urban Core. Commuter rail would be appropriate for connecting Lincoln and Omaha’s bedroom communities such as Gretna and Fremont with the Urban Core, and inter-city/high speed rail has been studied for connections to the east, such as Des Moines, the Quad-cities, and Chicago. A central station, preferably near the historic Union Station, would help tie the commuter and high-speed rail together with the streetcar in Proposed Future Fixed-Rail Transit Routes to a comprehensive system.”
It is important to note here that a nearby city is about to begin construction of a multimodal transportation center: Lincoln, our urban neighbor to the west. Like many of our transportation projects, this has also been a project in development for a long time. It began with a study that I was involved in as a UNL student representative, the Multi-Modal Transportation Plan from 2004. This plan called for a multimodal transportation center to be built downtown to replace the existing 11th & O “Gold’s Galleria” transfer center and include connections to intercity passenger transit (rail and/or bus) among other modes. My concept at that time was to find a location in the Haymarket near the Amtrak station, similar to Omaha, for connections to existing Amtrak service and future commuter rail. The site that is moving forward is a city-owned parking lot just south of the County-City Building, bordered by H, 9th, G, and 10th Streets. The location is not ideal, especially since it will be far south of the existing bus routes and center of downtown and not near the existing Amtrak station near Pinnacle Bank Arena, although it will at least provide a facility for transferring passengers and connecting other modes.
Site Plan for the Lincoln Multi-Modal Transportation Center
The “MMTC” costs $33 million with $23.6 million coming from a federal grant. The grant is from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program and was awarded in 2022. Construction is starting this summer. The facility is anticipated to open in 2027.
Graphic of a Bus Bay at the Lincoln MMTC
The recent planning for a multimodal transportation center in downtown Omaha, plus the construction of Lincoln’s facility, shows that there is still a need for such a facility in downtown Omaha. Similar to previous plans, perhaps the answer is not a single facility but rather multiple “mobility hubs” throughout downtown that could serve different purposes and connect multiple transit modes. In addition to the idea for a central station near the Burlington and Union Station structures, locating a mobility hub closer to downtown would be helpful to tie in existing bus routes and the streetcar. One idea for a mobility hub is on 8th Street between Douglas and Farnam. This is already an ORBT stop (the eastern terminus of the route) and will feature the streetcar line as well. This would be a good place to connect bus shuttles to/from the airport (providing a better and more reliable connection between downtown Omaha and the airport) and other active transportation modes.
Other downtown mobility hub locations could be 24th & Dodge (a multi-block hub that could connect ORBT, the streetcar, bus service on 24th Street (a MetroNEXT corridor), and other active transportation modes. These hubs, plus a central station, would assist with connections among multiple modes and make getting around Omaha without a car easier and promote further investment in the urban core. As with any transit corridor investment, such as a commuter rail line between Omaha and Lincoln or a streetcar line between midtown and downtown, the question is always how to get to the “last mile” or final destination, if it is not directly on the transit route. Mobility hubs and multimodal transportation centers help fill in this gap by providing better and cheaper transportation connections so people are able to spend and invest their money on other things, such as the retailers near these transit corridors and hubs.
Eric Miller is a senior transit planner at Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig (FHU), a transportation engineering and planning company that was founded 40 years ago and has been in Omaha since 2004. Eric has a 20-year career in the transit industry that includes work in both the private and public sector and work on planning and implementing bus and rail projects for transit agencies all across the country.