Mayoral Candidates' Skyway Knowledge? Not Much

A mayoral candidate forum was held Monday evening at the History Theatre, produced by Downtown Live and MC'd by popular Almanac host Eric Eskola. Candidates answered a variety of questions regarding issues facing Saint Paul, but when it came to skyway issues it was clear they have not been paying much attention.

Candidates either admitted having little knowledge of the skyway system or demonstrated shallow understandings of the concerns we have been facing over the past few years. Some simply parroted common misconceptions such as "the Minneapolis skyways are much better than Saint Paul's" or "the whole problem is that Saint Paul's skyways are publicly owned."

No one claimed to have actually studied the issues, which are easily researched online given the several news articles in recent months. No one expressed an understanding that our skyways are a public/private partnership or that building owners willingly agreed to this partnership decades ago as they knew the skyways would increase their property values. No one brought up concerns about how police resources are allocated or that portions of the system are controlled by Metro Transit rather than the city.

Furthermore, no candidate explained that our system generally works very well but has been marred in recent years by some serious but isolated behavioral issues such as rowdy youths and homeless sleepers. The growth of downtown's residential community, the building of the Green Line and the redevelopment of Higher Ground/Dorothy Day were absent from the discussion.

I realize mayoral candidates have a lot of issues to research and understand, but the health of our downtown community is certainly an important one and I would hope that our next mayor knows the issues and has a strong interest in supporting efforts to improve the skyway system which is integral to the area. I would suggest that he or she start by talking with some of the folks who have been working on the issues and finding out where executive support is needed.

The future of Saint Paul will partially be determined by the future of its downtown core, and that future depends significantly on how well the skyway system provides safe, pleasant pedestrian connections in all weather conditions. Let's hope our new mayor understands this and makes it a priority.