Omaha By Design: Omaha, Only Better

July 14, 2010

lay of the land

by Ken Mayer

As I write this, I’m watching the boys on the two wheelers powering through the Alps in the Tour de France. The high definition images of the race and the French countryside are nothing less than spectacular.

The roads wind and turn, often revealing a gorgeous view. Many of the routes were built hundreds of years ago and used the path of least resistance out of necessity, but in so doing, respected the terrain.

In this country we have been a bit more likely to ask nature to yield to our will by way of the Jeffersonian grid. In the Land Ordinance of 1785, Thomas Jefferson reacted to what he believed to be a confusing land survey system and suggested a new rectangular scheme, the grid. The grid divided land into plots one mile square.

Henry David Thoreau was about nine years old when Thomas Jefferson died and while they may have agreed on the role of government, I suspect they would not have seen eye to eye on the grid.

Had Thoreau’s profound respect for nature held sway it would likely have made our cities very different places and probably reduced the clashes between parks, traffic, businesses and residences that we all experience at their well defined rectangular intersections. And so, Thoreau and Jefferson continue their debate.

So too, in the history of Omaha, the debate has played out with Jefferson winning more often than not. While the grid makes finding an address fairly simple, it sort of barges through the natural terrain.

If you are like me, walk or bike time is also think time. While you may damn the pain of lactic acid building in your legs as you struggle up Omaha’s hills, you also recover that childhood thrill of speeding effortlessly down the other side. It makes you consider the balance of things.

We need to take that balance into account as we plan for the city’s future. How can we take best advantage of our unique topology?

First, let’s consider the aesthetics of the vista. Hills conceal, then reveal. The reward for reaching the top is often the view from above. Anyone who has “Walked the Bob” knows the beauty of surveying the natural and built environment from high above the middle of the Missouri.

There is a small overlook in Heartland Park with a good view of the river and lowlands that’s also worth a visit. The new Downtown 2030 plan includes a couple of lookouts that deserve our support. One is the Riverview Overlook that will provide views of the river from the OPPD Jones Street Station redevelopment. Another is the Pierce Commons Overlook that will include a viewing tower along the riverfront south of the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge.

Second, let’s encourage our planners to find ways to integrate walking and bicycling with new mass transportation. MAT buses now have bike racks to do this. Any new form of people mover should do the same.

As the population ages, those hills will become more daunting, so maybe we can find a way to ride the bus or train up, and walk or cycle down – perhaps a pass that permits several boardings and route changes during the day.

Finally, as redevelopment proceeds in the Dodge Street corridor west of the Crossroads, let’s find ways to get back to the Papio as we have gotten back to the Missouri. Since the creek doesn’t carry any commercial traffic, it can certainly be used for more than drainage. Seems like a great place to canoe or kayak.

We have successfully embraced the river once again as an essential feature of the city’s terrain and reversed the tendency to hide it. Let’s keep up the momentum and build our future in harmony with the lay of the land.