Post Tagged with: "public works"

Dundee uneasy to turn over new leaf

Dundee uneasy to turn over new leaf

The tree battle of Dundee continues.

Columnist Matthew Hansen has a look today at the latest in the neighborhood-versus-city tension brewing over trees being taken out along and around Underwood Avenue.

The city is removing the trees in preparation for a $2.5 million renovation of the Dundee business district, though as Hansen notes, officials have also said the trees have to go because of utility work. Residents didn’t seem to put up much of a fight in a series of meetings the city held to discuss the work.  Now, however, they’re pushing back.

April 16, 2013 Read More
Benson “gateway” renovations begin

Benson “gateway” renovations begin

The eastern entrance to Benson’s main stretch of businesses is getting a face lift.

Mayor Jim Suttle, City Councilman Pete Festersen and a handful of neighborhood leaders met Monday to mark the start of construction near the intersection of North 58th Street and Northwest Radial Highway. The $560,000 project will include changes to the sometimes-dangerous intersection, new landscaping and a new sign and monument.

A similar project at the other end of Benson’s business district is scheduled to start next year. Traffic will be rerouted around the east end of Benson during construction, which is expected to wrap up in July.

April 15, 2013 Read More
Parking, now with plastic

Parking, now with plastic

How to Use an IPS Smartmeter from IPS Smart Meters on Vimeo.

Omaha’s new credit card-accepting parking meters have arrived.

The first 400 of the 1,000 new meters went up Tuesday around the Old Market and near the city and county offices a few blocks west. Another 600 are expected to arrive in mid-May and will replace the old, coin-only meters on streets between those two areas. In total, the project will cost $492,000.

The new, solar-powered meters will take coins or cards (with a minimum of a $1 charge for the card option) and offer the city the ability to get real-time information about which meters are in use or out of order. Ken Smith, the city’s parking manager, says that information will help guide future decisions about parking changes in the city.

April 10, 2013 Read More
Yes, it’s still winter

Yes, it’s still winter

So this is good news*. Omaha snow removal crews are “planning for the worst,” said Scott McIntyre, the city’s street maintenance engineer.

“This really has the potential to be a pretty significant snowfall,” McIntyre said of this week’s expected storm. “It’s going to be a difficult snow operation to stay on top of.”

The city will also declare a snow emergency late Thursday/Friday, meaning new parking regulations will take effect.

February 20, 2013 Read More
Pothole season is upon us

Pothole season is upon us

The good news: It’s not the worst pothole season we’ve seen in recent years. Mild temperatures and limited snowfall (so far, anyway) have meant fewer massive craters in Omaha’s roads.

City crews starting filling in the holes in December, when there were 10 work orders for potholes. The number jumped to 186 in January and was already at 151 by late last week.

The bad news: A few more snow-melt cycles might make the numbers jump even higher. But the city does have several ways to get in touch about a pothole that needs repaired.

You can check in by phone (402-444-4919), online through the Public Works Department or by using the city’s mobile app.

February 18, 2013 Read More
New cruisers are here

New cruisers are here

Yes, the gearheads at The Hall have eagerly updated you on the Omaha Police Department’s new cruiser fleet.

Now we’re getting our first looks of the department’s Chevrolet Caprice PPV’s. Count me as a fan of the new light bar system.

The City Council already signed off on the acquisition of 40 Caprice cruisers and five Ford sport utility vehicles under a three-year leasing program that will cost about $670,000 annually. The city has the option to buy the cruisers at a cut rate once the leases expire. We’ll keep a close eye on the success of the leasing program as it moves forward.

The department has more video of the cars in action. Take a look after the jump.

February 6, 2013 Read More
In snow emergencies, city will tow

In snow emergencies, city will tow

Let’s say it starts to feel a little more like winter and we get a serious dumping of snow.

The city declares a snow emergency — requiring cars parked east of 72nd Street to be moved to one side or another, depending on the day — and you forget to move your car. Once the storm’s over, you come outside, ice scraper in hand, and the car is nowhere to be found.

Chances are, it’s been moved down the street.

Under plans approved by the City Council this week, Public Works crews can step up their efforts during snow emergencies. Cars left on the wrong side of city streets could be towed to a safe spot nearby, while those abandoned on major roadways will likely be towed to an impound lot.

Council members said they were supportive of efforts to get snow plows through neighborhoods more quickly.

December 6, 2012 Read More
City’s new parking manager is on the job

City’s new parking manager is on the job

The city has a new employee in charge of its parking garages, parking meters and anything and everything else parking-related.

He’s Ken Smith, who spent more than a decade doing the same kind of work in Lincoln. Now, in his first week on the job in Omaha, Smith is beginning to sort out the long list of upgrades officials want to make to this city’s parking plan. A few changes are already in the works, including a shift to back-in angle parking in part of the Old Market and the introduction of meters that can be operated with credit and debit cards.

Smith said some of his initial efforts will probably involve adjusting rates at garages and meters, though it’s not clear yet where those changes will happen first and how prices will go up and down. Following on the recommendations of a parking study released earlier this year, officials have talked about upping rates at some high-traffic meter spots and possibly lowering rates in garages.

 

November 29, 2012 Read More
No change needed for some new meters

No change needed for some new meters

The latest in a series of parking-related upgrades downtown: Card-reading meters, likely coming early next year.

The city is taking proposals from meter companies through this week and will make a selection soon after. The new meters will take both cards and coins and will show up first at the spots that get particularly high use. (The city says some meters, notably the 10-hour types around downtown, might not be replaced.)

The decisions about where and when to install the meters will be made in part by the city’s new parking manager, who starts on the job this week. He’ll also be leading other parking changes, sparked by recommendations from a parking consultant hired by the city. Those could include changes to rates and enforcement hours.

November 26, 2012 Read More
Sewer rate plan has council support

Sewer rate plan has council support

The Omaha City Council’s public hearing on new sewer rates — the plan that would lessen increases for big industrial users — didn’t include much criticism.

About a dozen people, including representatives from those big industries, and some smaller companies, told the council they support the revised rate ordinance. It would assess fees in part based on the size of customers’ water meters. And it would lump in the 19 big users who had been responsible for 5 percent of the $2 billion-plus sewer project bill with the other 13,000 or so commercial accounts in the city.

(The city has an online calculator that lets customers figure out their new rates.)

October 24, 2012 Read More