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I think Lincoln could use a few more skybridges downtown. It could certainly make it easier for pedestrians walking downtown in the summer or winter.

mrsticka wrote:I think Lincoln could use a few more skybridges downtown. It could certainly make it easier for pedestrians walking downtown in the summer or winter.

Skywalks*

What's the difference?

I'm sure it all comes down to cost. A crosswalk provided by the city is free, anything else costs the building owner a lot of money...

I'm not a big fan of skywalks as they take away from pedestrian sidewalk traffic. I would be good with Lincoln stop planning these.

Linkin5 wrote:I'm not a big fan of skywalks as they take away from pedestrian sidewalk traffic. I would be good with Lincoln stop planning these.

I tend to agree. I believe several of the current ones were built when there was considerable retail presence in the Brandeis, Centrum and Atrium Buildings. One could walk through, similar to an indoor mall, and shop. Now those buildings have mostly offices and most retail is at the street level.

I just thought a city like Lincoln would be eager to build them. I mean, most 2 way streets here have center turn lanes. They want to put in roundabouts all over the place, which I'm not too crazy about. So yeah, it was only natural for me to assume that they'd want to build some more skybridges downtown.

mrsticka wrote:I just thought a city like Lincoln would be eager to build them. I mean, most 2 way streets here have center turn lanes. They want to put in roundabouts all over the place, which I'm not too crazy about. So yeah, it was only natural for me to assume that they'd want to build some more skybridges downtown.

I'm failing to see the correlation between these things.

Linkin5 wrote:

mrsticka wrote:I just thought a city like Lincoln would be eager to build them. I mean, most 2 way streets here have center turn lanes. They want to put in roundabouts all over the place, which I'm not too crazy about. So yeah, it was only natural for me to assume that they'd want to build some more skybridges downtown.

I'm failing to see the correlation between these things.

Alrighty, I'm just glad I wasn't the only one confused.

Not a fan of skybridges, but I get why they are popular or important. Having the Hilton connect directly to CLC is huge. A place like Minneapolis has bitter winters.

I don't think it makes much sense in Lincoln though. They don't have those mega employers that demand multiple building or to be connected to a garage. I just don't see how many people would be moving between buildings on a daily basis.

I do like them - when I used to work downtown, I really would have appreciated them on really stormy days / during the winter. I completely understand the stance that they discourage patronage of street-level retail, but I don't know how much of an impact that has - if I was going out to lunch I'd still be going to these same establishments, skybridges or not.

Isn't it kind of hard to retrofit skywalks, and not disturb office space in the connected buildings, let alone security issues.

I would never suggest a skybridge to the capitol or city hall.

mrsticka wrote:I would never suggest a skybridge to the capitol or city hall.

I would, just like in the Jetsons!