Elevated pedestrian bridges in many cities are a means to get from Point A to Points B, C, D and E.
In Omaha, second-floor skywalks mostly provide a climate-controlled walkway linking two points - with no other connection possibilities.
A $1 million downtown skywalk, paid for by the private Omaha Performing Arts Society and the Omaha Public Power District, will keep with that tradition.
The new walkway, scheduled to open today, spans 16th Street, between Harney and Howard Streets, giving theatergoers an elevated walkway to cross from the OPPD parking garage into the Orpheum Theater.
The skywalk extends west from the theater's second level and stretches 200 feet to the parking garage. The Omaha Performing Arts Society manages the Orpheum Theater and will manage the Omaha Performing Arts Center when it opens in fall of 2005.
The new skywalk joins a number of others downtown that were constructed for the purpose of improving access.
"We have a 25-year history of skywalk, link, elevated connections we can look back on," said City Planning Director Bob Peters, "It's extremely likely that the network will be limited to connecting parking resources with the adjacent, either commercial or residential use."
Cities such as Minneapolis and Des Moines have elaborate skywalk systems that connect stores to offices, theaters and parking structures. Minneapolis has a system of second-level, enclosed walkways that spans more than five miles.
Des Moines has a system of skywalks that make up more blocks per capita than any other U.S. city of comparable size.
Not only do skywalks in these cities connect multiple buildings, but they also incorporate retail and restaurant services.
The main reason for Omaha's lack of skywalks is the city's topography, Peters said.
"Both of those cities (Minneapolis and Des Moines) have relatively flat topographies, and Omaha is a city that rises on the bluffs from the Missouri River."
Among Omaha's most visible downtown skywalks are an elevated walkway on 16th Street, north of the new Orpheum Theater skywalk, which connects the Orpheum Tower Apartments to a garage for residential tenants, and a newer one on 10th Street connects the Qwest Center Omaha to the Hilton Omaha.
One of the only local skywalks that connects more than two buildings is the walkway on Douglas Street that connects the Brandeis Building to Central Park Plaza, and Central Park Plaza to Omaha Park One.
"There are a few (skywalks), but they have all been constructed to solve very specific access issues," Peters said. "They've generally been constructed as a convenience rather than as a necessity."
