City Leaders Highlight Importance of Lincoln on the Move Funding
Published on December 19, 2024
Annual report illustrates potential risks of sales tax expiration
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and City leaders today said the Lincoln on the Move annual report illustrates how vital the funding initiative is for building and maintaining Lincoln transportation infrastructure. Through the six-year Lincoln on the Move initiative that began in 2019, the City expects to generate nearly $102 million for additional street improvement and new street construction.
The fifth Lincoln on the Move annual report is available at lincoln.ne.gov/streets. In 2023-2024, the Lincoln on the Move program invested $19.3 million on nearly 27 lane miles of street improvements and new construction on a variety of neighborhood and arterial street improvements.
To date, the City has invested $79.5 million in street improvements and new street construction. The City has implemented or completed 55 additional street improvement and new construction projects since the voter-approved quarter-cent sales tax took effect in 2019. The City anticipates completion of 65 street improvement and new construction projects before the quarter-cent sales tax expires in September 2025.
“While our annual report illustrates the specific projects that Lincoln on the Move funding has achieved for our community, it also helps us see clearly how much our community’s growth, quality of life, traffic flow, and public safety depend upon Lincoln on the Move funding,” Mayor Gaylor Baird said. “Simply put, with Lincoln on the Move we have seen the acceleration of our community’s economy, safety, and quality of life; without Lincoln on the Move, $18 million dollars in annual street funding goes away, a severe blow to our community’s momentum and quality of life.”
Joining Mayor Gaylor Baird at the news conference were:
- Liz Elliott, Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director
- Dave Engler, Lincoln Fire and Rescue Chief
- Beau Daffer, Home Builders Association of Lincoln President
- Jason Ball, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce President and CEO
- Kyle Fischer, Realtors Association of Lincoln Executive Vice President
- Brodey Weber, Lincoln City Council member
- Jeanne McClure, Advisory Committee on Transportation Co-Chair and American Council of Engineering Companies of Nebraska Executive Director
Director Elliott said that without Lincoln on the Move quarter-cent sales tax, the community faces a future with fewer street improvements, longer wait times for street projects, and higher street repair costs as interest rates and material costs continue to climb.
“At the City of Lincoln, we will continue to build new streets and maintain existing ones to serve our growing community. However, without additional sales tax funds to offset a future gap in funding, we would need to prepare for a much different reality – one with significant negative impacts on street safety, congestion, and future costs,” Elliott said.
Chief Engler said the Lincoln on the Move program benefits public safety by providing first responders well maintained streets that enable quick responses to emergencies.
“New roads ensure that our firefighters shave off that extra minute or even 30 seconds that can be the difference in those emergencies. In the core of the City, the difference between a road filled with potholes and a road that has been newly repaved is a factor in how quickly and safely we reach your family,” Engler said.
Engler also thanked Lancaster County Commissioner Rick Vest and members of the Railroad Transportation Safety District for their work to use Lincoln on the Move funds for safety improvements to railroad crossings.
“It has been an honor to support this initiative that has so successfully improved the infrastructure within our community. I am glad we were able to play a role with the city of Lincoln to help move our community forward,” Vest said in a statement.
Pointing to nearly 163 lane miles of street construction over the past five years, McClure said that street improvements in Lincoln have been made at a faster rate due the to the Lincoln on the Move initiative, which has improved travel in all four quadrants of the city.
“The numbers and data don’t lie. Without the quarter-cent sales tax, these crucial investments stop, leading to potholes and worn-down streets beyond routine maintenance. That’s not the Lincoln we want for our families, our businesses, or our future,” McClure said.
Ball said the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce recognizes that robust street funding is vital to the city’s economic growth by ensuring the efficient movement of goods and services, which supports businesses and fosters job creation.
“If we want a good driving experience, if we want more homes built, if we want a growing economy – and that is decidedly what the business community desires – then transportation networks need to be invested in,” Ball said.
Weber said arterial street projects in busy and growing areas like 84th Street, Cotner Boulevard, and Yankee Hill Road would not have been completed in a timely fashion in the absence of the quarter-cent sales tax.
“Whether it’s as a driver, passenger, or a pedestrian – you can see that Lincoln on the Move contributes to street progress in every corner of our city. Which makes it clear that a potential loss of this critical road funding would impact every citizen, in every corner of Lincoln,” Weber said.
Daffer said that because streets are vital for growing the availability of housing in Lincoln, the Home Builders Association of Lincoln has and continues to support the Lincoln on the Move sales tax for street construction.
Fischer echoed Daffer’s assertion on the importance of new street construction and added that realtors will point to a community’s quality of infrastructure when trying to attract prospective home and business buyers.
The Lincoln on the Move initiative allocates 73.5% of the revenue to existing street improvements, 25% to new street construction in growth areas, and 1.5% to the LTU and Railroad Transportation Safety District partnership to enhance the North 33rd and Cornhusker Highway railroad intersections.
Annual Lincoln on the Move investments are as follows:
- 2019-20: $10.1 million in seven projects
- 2020-21: $15.1 million in 18 projects
- 2021-22 $16.8 million in 15 projects
- 2022-23: $18.2 million in seven projects
- 2023-24: $19.3 million in eight projects
View the Lincoln on the Move annual report and a map of projects and locations at lincoln.ne.gov/streets. To view all Lincoln on the Move projects, visit lincoln.ne.gov/LOTMProjects.