Council approves Cars & Coffee dates but removes street locations after downtown business concerns

The Lincoln City Council on Feb. 17 approved dates for a series of Cars & Coffee events submitted by the Lincoln Rail Splitter Antique Auto Club but amended the consent agenda to remove the specific street locations for the events so the organizer can work with city staff and the chief of police on final placement.

The council voted to approve event dates—including April 26, 2025 and Sept. 27, 2025 and additional dates in May, June and July 2025—from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., but adopted an amendment to item 5(c) that removed the block locations from the consent motion pending a later decision and publication of a summer event calendar.

The amendment was made and seconded on the floor and passed by roll call. Alderman Downs moved the amendment and Alderman Parrott seconded; the roll call recorded Parrott, Downs, Ross, O'Donohue, Eimer, Bateman and McCollum voting yes. Following that, the consent agenda as amended was approved by the same roll-call votes.

Event organizers and some downtown business owners pressed to keep the original 8–11 a.m. time window, saying a shorter span or earlier end time would reduce turnout. Ethan, an event organizer identified to the council, told members: "We really like the 8 to 11. You get people from out of town for 2 hours, they're just not coming. So we really think that we can get enough people." He said organizers are willing to work with the council on location and timing to "keep everybody happy."

Several Aldermen and business owners said the number of downtown street closures has grown and is harming businesses on closure days. Alderman McClellan said a recent study of business owners listed frequent street closures as a top concern and suggested rotating locations or moving some dates to other blocks: "...it's the number of days that it's closed, and it's getting more and more frequent. We have to put some kind of limit on it."

Public-safety concerns shaped the council's decision to remove specific locations from the motion. Chief Keith Meister told the council he would not support a proposal to change traffic flow to one-way around the square for the events because of the effect on emergency response and potential driver confusion: "...changing the traffic flow to 1 way for 1 day is gonna be extremely confusing to the people that haven't watched this or did not read the notice...and you'll have people going the wrong way."

Council members asked organizers to work with Chief Meister and city staff to develop a block-by-block calendar for the season and to bring final locations back to the clerk's office for publication. The council asked staff to coordinate timing and a rotation so closures are spread among blocks. Alderman Rolfs, who moved approval of the consent agenda dates, and Alderman Eimer, who seconded, were recorded on the original motion before the locations were removed by amendment.

City staff said once the organizer provides location proposals the clerk's office and police will review them and publish the final calendar.