Minneapolis Skyway System

Downtown - North Loop - Mill District - Elliot Park - Loring Park
Silophant
Moderator
Posts: 4470
Joined: June 20th, 2012, 4:33 pm
Location: Whimsical NE

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby Silophant » January 23rd, 2018, 12:43 pm

That door is going to be removed and a public passage built through the Xcel building to connect to 365 Nicollet. The area is a lunchroom right now, but it's pretty clear from the inside where the corridor is planned to be.
Joey Senkyr
[email protected]

SurlyLHT
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1262
Joined: February 21st, 2017, 3:50 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby SurlyLHT » January 30th, 2018, 7:08 pm

Have people heard how the businesses in the Skyway are doing with the big game? Max's Cafe's owner wrote to the Star Tribune that he was down 20% and Park Cafe in the Government Center is closing on Thursday I think. I'm afraid that the workers are fleeing and the tourists aren't taking their place.

minntransplant
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 176
Joined: June 1st, 2012, 7:44 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby minntransplant » January 31st, 2018, 8:17 am

Have people heard how the businesses in the Skyway are doing with the big game? Max's Cafe's owner wrote to the Star Tribune that he was down 20% and Park Cafe in the Government Center is closing on Thursday I think. I'm afraid that the workers are fleeing and the tourists aren't taking their place.
My impression has been less active skyways than normal in the morning and lunchtime. Things start picking up later in the day, especially around IDS. Anecdotal ... but half my coworkers are working remote this week, and the people that are here have been commenting on how empty the nearby garages have been all week.

at40man
Rice Park
Posts: 438
Joined: January 3rd, 2013, 6:49 pm
Location: Maplewood

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby at40man » January 31st, 2018, 10:32 am

Have people heard how the businesses in the Skyway are doing with the big game? Max's Cafe's owner wrote to the Star Tribune that he was down 20% and Park Cafe in the Government Center is closing on Thursday I think. I'm afraid that the workers are fleeing and the tourists aren't taking their place.
Which is exactly what happened 10 years ago when the RNC was held in Saint Paul. Not surprising.

SurlyLHT
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1262
Joined: February 21st, 2017, 3:50 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby SurlyLHT » January 31st, 2018, 10:40 am

Logically this doesn't surprise me. It is just so counter to the narrative that has been promoted. MinnPost had the below quote putting the economic impact around the same number the that was raised by the Super Bowl Committee.

"“If everything works out favorably, you’re probably looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million to $50 million of incremental impact,” Zimbalist said. “That’s in a situation where you’re presuming there’s a great deal of excess hotel capacity during those weeks in February.”

https://www.minnpost.com/politics-polic ... ct-numbers

amiller92
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1983
Joined: October 31st, 2014, 12:50 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby amiller92 » January 31st, 2018, 11:09 am

I don't think anyone thought it was going to be a windfall for lunch-only skyway places.

And, of course, I think we can assume there's a great deal of excess hotel capacity during the first weekend in February in the Twin Cities.

Anyway, I have the same impression as others. It's quieter during the day than normal, as people are working from home, but a lot livier than normal on and near the Mall in the evening.

I thought it was kind of funny, though, that guest parking at the Nic wanted $50 yesterday (we had free validation) and there was effectively no one parked there around 6:30 last night.

alexschief
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1140
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 11:35 am
Location: Minneapolis

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby alexschief » January 31st, 2018, 12:07 pm

The skyways are incredibly confusing to navigate for infrequent users, let alone newcomers (regular skyway users badly underestimate this). The streets are being programmed to death for the Super Bowl. Nothing surprising that a lot of the activity this week is bypassing the second level.

amiller92
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1983
Joined: October 31st, 2014, 12:50 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby amiller92 » January 31st, 2018, 12:34 pm

There are volunteers in every building to give skyway directions. It's weird during the day, because they're just standing there, but yesterday early evening I saw several of them actually in use and more people than usual with skyway maps in hand. Of course, those maps are terrible and hard to read. Also funny that they were trying to offer my dad and I help as we stood at a wall mounted map and debated which was the best route to where.

The facts that we needed the map to have the discussion and the organizing committee thinks it needs volunteers everywhere are both indictments of the existing way-finding, which is terrible. Sure seems like something the Downtown Council could have spent the last few years fixing, but no, Steve Cramer had city elections he wanted to mess with and crime fearmongering he wanted to do instead.

SurlyLHT
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1262
Joined: February 21st, 2017, 3:50 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby SurlyLHT » February 1st, 2018, 11:39 am

Personally, I think the Super Bowl Committee blew an opportunity with the skyways. We should have gotten new signs and mapping and the volunteers should have been trained better. They obviously aren't familiar with the skyways and rather then giving people a confusing map and their tiny bit of knowledge they should be walking around more guiding people to their destinations. I worked at Wal-Mart years ago and when a customer asks where something is you're supposed to walk them there. Secondly, I think it's sad that the lunch joints are hurting from the Super Bowl. I'm guessing a one week slowdown won't be too painful, but as the owner of Max's Café pointed out in the StarTribune it's frustrating to be paying the higher stadium taxes and to be getting no, or negative benefit from the stadiums. I suspect most of the money from all of this is going out of town via NFL sponsors and etc. It also may have been smart to direct people into local eateries instead of offering overpriced food at Super Bowl Live.

MattW
Rice Park
Posts: 441
Joined: June 13th, 2015, 5:05 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby MattW » February 1st, 2018, 12:45 pm

It also may have been smart to direct people into local eateries instead of offering overpriced food at Super Bowl Live.
Major missed opportunity here. Could have had an opportunity to really engage skyway businesses, instead we have dumpy concession stand food. Maybe the when the Final Four comes next year, the business association can lobby that host committee?

alexschief
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1140
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 11:35 am
Location: Minneapolis

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby alexschief » February 1st, 2018, 12:54 pm

The best way to funnel business to skyway tenants would be to hand them two-week-long permits to open a concession on the street. Laboring to send people up to the skyways and orient them there wouldn't be a good use of anyone's time.

amiller92
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1983
Joined: October 31st, 2014, 12:50 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby amiller92 » February 1st, 2018, 1:22 pm

It also may have been smart to direct people into local eateries instead of offering overpriced food at Super Bowl Live.
I had the same thought, although we also don't have anywhere close to enough storefronts on Nicollet, so...

Given the sheer number of volunteers, especially relative to visitors so far, I think you're right they could just walk people to their destination.

User avatar
Nathan
Capella Tower
Posts: 3695
Joined: June 1st, 2012, 10:42 am

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby Nathan » February 1st, 2018, 1:24 pm

I'm not sure it's anyone's fault. These businesses are based on having office workers downtown. Most of my friends who work downtown had the option to work from home this week due to issues with parking contracts, road closures, and traffic. Even if every person in town for the super bowl was I the skyway eating or if they had concessions on the street I doubt their sales would remain at 100 percent with a large chunk of their usual business either at home or avoiding the "crowd"

mamundsen
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1195
Joined: November 15th, 2012, 10:01 am

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby mamundsen » February 1st, 2018, 2:58 pm

To me... it's really strange how many of the Super Bowl activity is down at MOA. It should ALL be downtown.

User avatar
VacantLuxuries
Foshay Tower
Posts: 973
Joined: February 20th, 2015, 12:38 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby VacantLuxuries » February 1st, 2018, 3:18 pm

Same old story, we sell the state at the expense of the city.

karlshea
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 132
Joined: July 14th, 2014, 10:28 am

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby karlshea » February 1st, 2018, 6:30 pm

TBH I think everyone here that's familiar with the skyway underestimates the problems with it. You're complaining about wayfinding/signage (which are indeed terrible) when you're using it, but failing to realize that if you're not from here the skyway itself isn't even something you're going to investigate.

Why would you? From the outside it just seems like a way to get from one building to the other that's not on the sidewalk. It's not clear that it's filled with restaurants open during the day, and you'd never even think to look because in most other cities those restaurants or shops are right outside. Even if you knew that they were there how would you find out what's available? The only way that comes to mind is searching for a specific place on Google Maps (eliminating discovery of a place you wouldn't think to search for), but that just shows a street address, not "it's in the skyway in this building".

On top of all that it's completely non-obvious how to even get into the system. For example, right on Nicollet Mall there's the giant Target lobby. If you didn't know already would it occur to you to walk in, take the escalator up to the second floor, and then *not* enter Target but instead walk down a plain white hallway? I'm guessing no.

The only solution to this I can think of is signage outside on the sidewalks, and also some sort of identity system similar to public transit combined with the Food/Gas signs on the Interstate. There should be some sort of standardized plaque on every building that's connected near the door to enter that basically shouts "Enter Skyway here! These are the shops in this building: logo, logo, logo".

Bob Stinson's Ghost
Landmark Center
Posts: 264
Joined: January 20th, 2018, 11:36 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby Bob Stinson's Ghost » February 1st, 2018, 6:49 pm

Here's a little out of the box thinking. How about augmented reality? What if you could enter your destination in an app on your phone, then look through the camera and see lines and arrows showing you where to go?

Anondson
IDS Center
Posts: 4645
Joined: July 21st, 2013, 8:57 pm
Location: Where West Minneapolis Once Was

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby Anondson » February 1st, 2018, 9:50 pm

I haven’t been downtown for a few weeks, is it really the case that the state’s super bowl planning organizations failed at providing better signage directing people how to get into the skyways from outside? Did they maybe think that relying on free volunteers was adequate for this lingering decades-old problem?

BBMplsMN
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 162
Joined: August 21st, 2015, 3:09 pm

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby BBMplsMN » February 1st, 2018, 10:10 pm

I haven’t been downtown for a few weeks, is it really the case that the state’s super bowl planning organizations failed at providing better signage directing people how to get into the skyways from outside?
They have big banners outside at major access points that I think say “Skyway Access.” For example there is one outside Mayo Clinic Square. They did not revamp the skyway wayfinding system, but there is additional signage leading to specific Super Bowl locations. And there are about 500 volunteers at all times. You really can’t walk 20 steps without running in to 2-4 volunteers. It’s pretty fun to see.

User avatar
FISHMANPET
IDS Center
Posts: 4241
Joined: June 6th, 2012, 2:19 pm
Location: Corcoran

Re: Minneapolis Skyway System

Postby FISHMANPET » February 1st, 2018, 10:53 pm

The volunteers seem very eager. I nearly had to run away from one giving away maps at the Nicolet Mall station. I'm a local I don't need a map! I was just going to the library!


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 47 guests