As we begin the new year and await the announcement from Mayor Jean Stothert on whether or not she will be running for a fourth term, it is time to consider the next mayoral election and what it will mean for the city, especially with Stothert’s streetcar project. With the next election happening in 2025, we have a whole year for campaigning and to see how much Stothert can get done before her term is finished. 

In a voter turnout poll done after the last election in 2021, of the 298,683 registered voters in Omaha, less than 33% voted in the mayoral election. Stothert managed to win with 28,000 votes over her opponent, RJ Neary, Principal and Chairman of Industrial and Special Projects with Investors Realty, Inc. Neary was one of many that ran in the primaries on the campaign promise that he would fix the roads in Omaha, an often-heard rebuke against Stothert’s office. Stothert became the city’s first female mayor in 2013, running against former mayor Jim Suttle. At a press conference in November, she stated firmly that she would not be willing to announce until at least January if she would be willing to run again. As of the time of this article being published, no other challengers have officially been announced. 

If Stothert is not reelected in 2025, what will this mean for the streetcar project? As Stothert’s office has not released approval numbers, we are forced to look at the approval rating of the streetcar, which as of December still shows 68% of polled Omaha citizens are opposed to the streetcar, with many stating that they would not be likely to use it even if it is free to the public. With building set to start this summer — pushed back from the original spring timeline — this gives Stothert over a year to begin construction without the possibility of a new mayor killing the project. At her press conference in November, Mayor Stothert was taken aback by the idea that anyone would want to stop the streetcar. Despite that, let's look at the projected cost for the next year a little closer.

The total streetcar project is projected to be $306 million, with the project taking a TIF loan out from the city to pay for it, with the expectation that they will be able to pay the loan off using property taxes from businesses built because of the new transportation. Originally it was set to be 25-30 years, but a decision in December by the city council pushed the timescale back to 40 years. We have officially entered what is being called the “Final Design Phase” In this phase, the actual vehicles will be obtained from the manufacturers and final designs of the line, stops and cars themselves will be solidified.

At a minimum, each streetcar vehicle is $6 million, and the goal is to buy six in total. They will have to keep them maintained, which is $150,000 a year per car. That puts our current price tag at $36.9 million. From there we have the actual work on Farnam as they create the streetcar line, with maintenance and utilities relocation; as well as the vehicle maintenance facility at CHI Health Center’s Lot A; the replacing of the bridges on Farnam and Harney that go over Interstate 480 that will include walking and biking paths as well as improved streetlights. Based on figures from multiple Departments of Transportation across the country, the bridge could cost anywhere between $6.8-$220 million. If we use the average of around $113 million, our price tag is now at $149.9 million. This is nearly half of the budget and isn’t including the work on Farnam to put the streetcar rails in, as well as the work for the underground and above-ground wiring. While this is currently speculation, the facts are, within the first year of building, a massive amount of funds will be used, and this is all on the assumption that the project won’t be halted or outright stopped. 

The streetcar has already been delayed six months. Originally, it was scheduled to be ready and running by winter 2026, but it has now been pushed to spring 2027. This is before any building has begun, so what happens when Farnam is actually torn up for the lines to be built in? As many Omahans often state, this city is already notorious for its inefficient pothole repairs that often leave half the city unusable for months at a time as the streets are blocked off with no repairs in place. Perhaps that 68% of opposition within the city stems from the unlikeliness that the actual building of a standing, unmovable transit system will be any more effective. They have also moved back their payment scale to 40 years, as well as are suggesting they will sell bonds to Mutual of Omaha up to $50 million.

As of now, there are no plans for designated parking for people using the streetcar line, meaning that if you can’t walk to one of the stops, you have nowhere to safely store your vehicle outside of street and metered public parking. And, for at least downtown, more and more are moving towards weekly or monthly parking, or used only by residents or workers of the buildings, parking becomes more difficult. As well as the fact that the entire point of the streetcar, according to Stothert herself, is to eliminate unused parking. From her town hall meeting, the current projections believe that we as a city would need around 50,000 more parking stalls built in the next few years, presumably without another public transit system in place. 

Stothert has not spoken about any point-of-no-return for this project. According to her team, there is no point before or during construction where they could halt or stop entirely. But if we elect a new mayor, they might have a different opinion. 

Any opposition that runs on the single-issue voter ticket of removing unnecessary spending would likely target the streetcar. The TIF loan presumes it will pay off any expenditures roughly over the next 30 years using the property taxes of businesses that the streetcar builds in, but that is a gamble on the future. Many voters might not be in favor of using funds that could otherwise be diverted elsewhere, especially with the high majority of people in the city not in favor of the streetcar. 

As of 2020, the city has had a budget for repairing the streets, more specifically potholes, at $12.5 million. It is not a hard argument to make that many would prefer excess funds be used for fixing something that, as previously stated, is a major issue in our city.