ST. PAUL, Minn. - St. Paul leaders are taking action after crime and people living in skyways reached an all-time high this winter.
Mayor Chris Coleman announced the preliminary recommendations of the Skyway Vitality Work Group on Wednesday. One proposed ordinance clarifies what conduct is permissible in the skyway, and the second sets clearer standards and requirements for building security.
The five miles of skyway and 52 bridges spanning St. Paul have become both the city's connection and its contradiction.
"They are public space that's in private buildings elevated up into the sky," said City Councilmember Rebecca Noecker, co-chair of the work group. "So are they streets, are they just thoroughfares?"
The skyways have sometimes become a resting place for people experiencing homelessness.
"We have seen people living in the skyway, we have seen people using them as bathrooms," said Mayor Coleman.
After one business owner began locking her skyway doors early, St. Paul officials took stock of growing complaints and announced an aggressive revision of the city's outdated skyway ordinance, written back in 1991.
"I hear loud and clear from residents and building owners that we need action and not talk," Noecker said.
This winter, St. Paul Police added seven extra officers to patrol the skyways.
"(We are) moving people along that are maybe sleeping or hanging out in the skyways that shouldn't be there," said St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell, "and we are trying to direct those people to resources like Dorothy Day."
St. Paul is asking the state for $12 million to fund the second phase of Dorothy Day's expansion.
To tighten skyway security, the city will consider closing at midnight instead of 2 a.m.
They plan to work with building owners to make sure security staff are trained to monitor cameras, check skyways every hour, lock doors, and eliminate "hiding spaces."
"It is inhumane their only option should be our skyway," Noecker said.
On Wednesday, a building employee told KARE 11 that he checked on someone sleeping in the skyway last week and had a knife pulled on him.
St. Paul wants to hear public feedback over the next month. They hope to move forward with the new ordinance in July.