OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Former Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said on her radio show that she takes responsibility for pushing the Omaha streetcar project forward. About two years of construction remain to complete the project.
The streetcar is called OSCAR. Road closed signs and construction barriers have taken over downtown streets.
Stothert discussed the project on her KFAB radio show with a guest, Clark Ross, co-founder of the Omaha Streetcar Impact Alliance and owner of Mercury bar at 16th and Harney streets. Ross said he will have to close his business in January because the streetcar plan ignored what the project would cost small businesses.
Stothert: ‘I will take responsibility’
“I have always said I will take responsibility for it. I really will. I mean, everybody knows we’ve talked about it for 30 years. Hal Daub talked about it when he was mayor, but I was the one, at the recommendation of the urban core committee, to push the streetcar forward. The City Council was involved, of course. They had to approve every step of the way,” Stothert said…