Skyway Governance Advisory Committee

The Skyway Governance Advisory Committee (SGAC) exists to engage the public and to develop recommendations about issues and policies that involve the skyway system in Downtown Saint Paul. The committee discusses wayfinding and signage, hours of operation (including requests to temporarily close skyways), safety issues, accessibility, maintenance, heating and cooling, and other issues related to the skyways.

The SGAC meets the fourth Friday of each month from 9 to 10:30am

All CRC Meetings are currently held on Zoom

Meeting link is posted on the homepage

Committee members are appointed by the CRC officers, and they are intended to represent a broad range of stakeholders and interests, so that we can find consensus among people with different perspectives. The voting membership should at least include:

  • Downtown residents,
  • Accessibility advocates,
  • Representatives of Downtown visitors (Visit Saint Paul officials and / or representatives of hotels, restaurants, or entertainment venues)
  • Representatives of businesses (Saint Paul Area Chamber and / or downtown business owners / managers)
    Downtown building owners (members of Saint Paul Building Owners and Managers Association and / or other representatives of building owners)
  • Youth advocates, and
  • Representatives of organizations that provide social services.

The committee's recommendations are sent to the Skyway Work Group, which is led by the Ward 2 City Council member and is comprised of City staff whose duties and responsibilities are essential for implementing changes (including the City Dept. of Safety and Inspections, Saint Paul Police Dept., and City Attorney's Office).

For more information about the committee, please contact the CRC Executive Director. 

Committee Charter

Draft committee charter (based on a previous document from 2009-2010)

Meeting Agendas and Notes

2023

March 24 Agenda:

The following requests have been submitted to change skyway hours of operation in specific areas. Current skyway hours are 6 a.m. to midnight, and building owners may request changes. Meeting attendees should also review the skyway code of conduct in City Code Chapter 140 and map of skyways that includes bridge numbers. Each of the following will be voted on by the committee, and the committee recommendations will be sent to the City Council for a vote. If time allows, there will be additional discussions with managers from the Saint Paul Police Department, Metro Transit Police, and Saint Paul Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI). Here are the requested changes to skyway hours:

2022

  • August 26 agenda: Review City of Saint Paul Skyway policy statement (last updated in 2006) - is this still accurate, or should changes be considered?
  • August 26, 2022 Notes
  • July 22, 2022 Notes
  • June 24, 2022 Notes
  • April 22, 2022 Notes
  • March 25, 2022 Notes:

    Presiding: Jess Grams, CRC Chair, SGAC Chair; Jon Fure, CRC Executive Director

    Public Safety Update:

    Presenters:  SPPD Commander Laura Bolduan, SPPD Senior Commander Jesse Mollner, John Bandemer Downtown Alliance Safety Communication Center Downtown Improvement District

    Property crimes continue to decrease, although overall there has been a slight increase which has been driven by a mild uptick in arson and changes in reporting methods.

    Assaults are trending up citywide which are mostly domestic and acquaintance related.

    There is no available data on crime statistics specific to the skyway system.  Commander Bolduan will look into the possibility of obtaining this information.  Past attempts have been unsuccessful.

    New Police Academy Grads are being introduced to the downtown and skyway areas.

    There will be an increased number of police officers deployed on two shifts in the downtown area as workers return to the office starting the beginning of April.

    There are no new plans regarding a centralized skyway security system.  The opinion was that there was a lack of consensus among building owners and also cost constraints.  John Bandemer reports that their phone network connects a number of buildings in the district facilitating communication across buildings which addresses security concerns both on the street and in the skyway.  Currently about 24 buildings are able to do this from Cedar Street going west. This does not include Lowertown or the Northeast quadrant.  

    DSI Update: Presenter Tom Ferrara, Department of Safety and Inspections 

    DSI is requesting progressive enforcement action at the Railroader Printer Building which is under new ownership. A prosecutor is assigned and the process is moving forward.

    The Saint Paul Athletic Club reports that they now have security in place but there is nothing on paper at this time.  There is the possibility of court action regarding this.

    The SW stairwell at 345 Press House was being illegally accessed from the adjacent alley causing problems. This was addressed and the door should now be locked.

    The skyway hours will be returning to a midnight closure starting on April 5th.  Emails and letters have been sent to property owners regarding this.  Hours will be 6am-12 midnight.

    Any complaints regarding skyway ordinance violations pertaining to building owners and management should be directed to DSI.  Tom said that they follow up on any and all complaints that they receive.

    New accessible route signage from Lowry to the City Hall Annex is currently under review.

    New art exhibitions from the Minnesota Museum of American Art coming soon to skyway bridges #30 and #31.

    There continues to be problems with illegal skyway locking and lack of security by certain building owners. DSI is seeking attorney action on multiple building owners. Tom stated that these owners are eager to challenge the foundation of the skyway system and looking to change our current rules in their favor.

    Questions arose regarding any other sort of recourse. Jon Fure stated that the Charter Commission recently voted against changing the charter to allow for administrative fines. Several members of the commission will end their terms this year.  Interested parties are encouraged to apply. Their website is stpaul.gov/departments/charter-commission.

    Other Business:

    Judy Miller of the CRC Board of Directors reports that the CRC will be holding “Listening Sessions” across the district in June and September.  Participation is open to all and data will be shared with the city.  The CRC committees are asked to provide questions for these sessions.

    Emma Burns from the Downtown Alliance reports a plan for new artwork in the skyway bridge between the Central Station connecting point and the Alliance Bank Building.

    SGAC recommends that the city and the Public Works Department approve this.

    The skyway map app is approaching the “soft launch” phase and will be needing volunteers for beta testing.  

    John Bandemer reports that the Downtown Ambassador Program is going well with about 90% of the Ambassadors currently working in the skyway system.

    Judy Miller and Jean Krueger shared information regarding closures in the area affecting unsheltered individuals and efforts underway to find additional funding for housing/shelter.

    John Bandemer reports that Freedom House will likely continue to be operational in a different building.

    Sandy Smith recommended that the committee start posting meeting notes on the CRC website and asked if committee members would be comfortable sharing their email addresses with each other.

    She also wondered if the committee could prioritize and pick projects to work on for this term.

    Respectfully submitted,

    Sandy Smith

2019

Resolutions

SGAC

Showing 1 reaction

  • Jon Fure
    published this page in Committees 2019-04-01 11:40:44 -0500
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