Omaha's Capital Improvement Program
The Mode Shift Omaha Transparency project researches how Omaha's transportation decisions are made and by whom, where funding for transportation projects comes from and where it is spent. We want to open up the “black box” of transportation decision-making and implementation in Omaha so we can better plan for, respond to, and ultimately help change these so the public have a greater say in the process. We started with Omaha's Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
CIP Background (It's not about potholes)
Click here for a bit of background about the Capital Improvement Program's goals and funding.
Omaha’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP): Money goes in, projects come out.
What goes on in the CIP black box?
Mode Shift’s Transparency team has been working on that question for the past two years.
Although the City has improved the yearly CIP report, and started on a promising Complete Streets program, the rest of the CIP is inadequate:
- Master plans are ignored and strategic plans are invisible to the public
- Project selection does not follow the City Charter and favors short term band-aid projects
- Project execution is terrible - Millions are routinely diverted to cover for huge cost overruns and unplanned projects.
Omaha Taxpayer Funds Management
In this 2018 video, Mode Shift finds that although the City has improved its Capital Improvement Plan, the transportation project selection and project execution are inadequate by any standards.
For a shorter version of the video, click here.
Map of Transportation Projects
Curious about the transportation project size and location? The Mode Shift Map displays a map the CIP projects. The City of Omaha's Planning page includes a map of the projects with links to the CIP itself, but Mode Shift's map includes more information - project $ amounts, purpose, and past projects.
The Mode Shift map of Omaha's CIP projects.