Public/Private Skyway Partnership: Blessing or Curse?

Saint Paul's skyway system is very different from that of Minneapolis, which is privately owned and controlled by building owners. 

The Saint Paul version was paid for mostly with public funds, but there had to be easement agreements with building owners since pathways through private buildings were required to make it work. This allowed for a more coordinated system with standardized hours and signage. But is this public/private partnership a blessing or a curse?

Easement agreements stated that skyway passages are publicly controlled, similar to outdoor sidewalks. Since being connected to the skyway system greatly enhances the value of a building, owners agreed to pay for maintenance and security of the system, and when a building is sold the new owner is required to take on those responsibilities.

While this plan seems to make sense on the surface, it hasn't worked out all that well lately. First of all, the easement agreements were too vague regarding what was required of building owners and how they should handle cost-sharing.

Secondly, times have changed and so has the behavior of some skyway users, which can range from annoying and rude to disgusting and even dangerous on rare occasion. This has burdened building owners and Police with significantly higher costs than anticipated.

Finally, the population of downtown Saint Paul has grown significantly in recent years, including residents and transit riders making connections at Central Station, the light rail stop in the central business district. Growing numbers mean more incidents of crime, more homeless folks sleeping in skyway-connected buildings, more wear and tear on skyways and more "quality of life" complaints.

This is not to say that Saint Paul's skyways are unsafe or unpleasant overall. Those who have visited other cities, including Minneapolis, generally say that Saint Paul's downtown is comparatively delightful. But challenges do exist, and many of us are working on solutions to head off problems before they get worse.

The first key to making improvements has been to identify who makes decisions regarding skyway issues and getting those people together to design solutions. The Skyway Vitality Work Group mentioned in the previous post is the result, and six months in the group is almost ready to forward recommendations for changes in the skyway ordinance to the City Council for approval (scheduled for August). The group is now looking into maintenance issues, with the lack of public restrooms top of the list.

Another key to success will be having building owners cooperate to provide better security downtown. The BOMA organization is currently choosing a consultant to advise them on steps to take, after which they hope to move forward with a plan.

These solutions are not instantaneous, but they never are for complex challenges like the ones faced in our skyway system. A final key for success will be the patient and determined persistence of downtown residents and other stakeholders in moving this process along. If we keep going in the right direction, we should have a better skyway system and a better downtown to show for it.

So, is the public/private nature of our skyways a blessing, or a curse? The answer is probably some of each. In any case, that's how the system was designed and those are the cards we've been dealt. The real question is how we are going to play our hand.