St. Paul Considers Closing Skyways Earlier

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As more businesses evolve and resident populations grow in downtown St. Paul, questions about the city's skyway system are coming into play.

Monday night, the Skyway Governance Advisory Committee of the Capital River Council hosted a meeting.

It addressed common issues and concerns including closing times and safety issues.

Right now, there is a city council ordinance being debated to close the skyways earlier.

The group's responsibility is to take people's concerns to City Council.

"It has been a problem for a while. It has probably gotten a little bit worse with light rail. The Green Line has probably brought a few more people into the downtown. Especially there's a central station that has an elevator from the light rail station up into the skyways and that has been a nexus a lot of the problems," Bill Hanley of the Capital River Council's board said.

St. Paul skyways are open until 2 a.m. The city council ordinance would close them at midnight.

Along with monthly meetings, the committee will host events called "State of the Skyways." It will update people with the latest updates on skyway issues.