EPA to help Lincoln spruce up

LINCOLN — With assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency, Lincoln city planners hope to transform the aging neighborhoods south of the State Capitol into a green and pedestrian-friendly place to live, work and shop.

EPA officials on Friday named Lincoln one of five capital cities that will receive green design assistance for an urban renewal pilot project. It was selected from among 23 cities that applied for assistance through the Greening America's Capitals project.

Others chosen were Montgomery, Ala.; Phoenix; Jackson, Miss.; and Washington, D.C.

EPA regional administrator Karl Brooks said he could not yet put a dollar value on Lincoln's selection. The EPA will provide urban planners, landscape architects and other experts to assist Lincoln as needed.

“This is not a Styrofoam check program,” he quipped, referring to the more typical process in which a government official presents a grant recipient with a giant check listing the amount of money being given.

But he said it could result in multimillion-dollar construction projects as Lincoln improves drainage and transportation in the area.

Milo Mumgaard, an environmental aide to Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler, said the city would begin work in a matter of weeks, by identifying consultants and beginning discussions with residents.

The vision could include walking paths and sidewalk improvements; bike lanes that are separated from car traffic with protective medians; and improved public transportation connections.

Rain gardens and bioswales, which are areas of vegetation used to catch and slow water run-off, could replace storm sewers. New green spaces and plazas might be used for neighborhood gatherings and festivals.

“The goal is to develop sustainable urban design and move away from traditional alleys and culverts,” Mumgaard said.

Mumgaard and Jon Carlson, a mayoral aide who focuses on neighborhood improvements, said that by building environmentally sustainable infrastructure, the city hopes to attract private developers to build environmentally friendly housing and business structures.

Bike racks, rooftop gardens and solar panels may well become a common sight in the future neighborhood.

The South Capitol neighborhood designated for the assistance is a roughly 70-square-block, mostly residential area south and west of the Capitol. Some of the homes are run down, and many have been converted to apartments.

Mumgaard and Carlson said it already has the bones to become a charming, pedestrian-friendly district. One major thoroughfare, 11th Street, is unusually broad. Historically intended to be a boulevard linking the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a hospital once located on South Street, it once featured a fountain in the middle of a major intersection.

Not far away is Goodhue Boulevard — named in honor of State Capitol architect Bertram Goodhue. It stretches south from the Capitol to A Street. Eclectic commercial areas that feature a supermarket, antique stores, quirky restaurants and a coffee shop are near more gritty urban offerings like convenience stores, cigarette outlets and mechanics’ shops.

This is the second year for the Greening America’s Capitals project, a joint effort of the EPA, Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Brooks said.

Capital cities are the focus of the project because of their visibility, he said.

“Healthy state capitals help drive the economy of a state,” Brooks said.

“You can see the dome from every part” of this area of Lincoln, he said.

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