The Associated Press provided an article, reprinted Sunday in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, that holds a lesson for Little Rock, if the right people pay attention.

It’s about skywalks — enclosed tubes that interconnect downtown buildings so that building inhabitants never have to go outside or walk on street level to move around town.

Advertisement

The point:

But one era’s brainstorm has become the next generation’s headache as cities are now desperate to add life to downtown. For them, the question is how to create lively streets when no one walks outside anymore.

Across the country, a debate is growing over what to do with the cozy corridors, bridges and tunnels that have helped create urban ghost towns. Cincinnati decided to dismantle half its 1-mile-plus system and Baltimore has taken down seven bridges, with plans to remove two more, to push people back onto the streets. Minneapolis, which is spending $50 million to overhaul its glitzy Nicollet Mall downtown, is being urged by some residents to do the same. Spokane, Washington, which has one the most extensive systems, is turning away from any further expansion.

The skywalks take people off streets, and the streets become derelict. It’s the opposite of what you want to build to make downtowns into places enticing to residents. See the Third Street corridor in Little Rock, east from Cumberland, where condos, street-level restaurants and other developments, have created a tiny taste of Manhattan-style street life.

Advertisement

The few skywalks in downtown Little Rock have done little to contribute to making downtown a welcoming place. See the blighted streetscape near where they are in use. 

The current pressing problem: Some of the same people responsible for the dead end of Main around Seventh Street — where a hulking parking garage further encourages a battalion of state workers to drive to work and commute home without ever touching the soil of Little Rock — want to build more of these things in the Little Rock Tech Park that taxpayers are financing a few blocks farther north on Main.

Advertisement

No more skywalks. Send a copy of the article linked above to anyone you know who might have influence on design decisions.

I happen to believe our our whole Tech Park direction is misbegotten. We began with real estate and taxpayer money, not private capital or, most important, a cadre of thinkers. What we need are more of the latter and maybe a few garages for them to work in, a la Silicon Valley.

Advertisement

But skywalks? No.

Help to Keep Great Journalism Alive in Arkansas

Join the fight for truth and become a subscriber of the Arkansas Times. We've been battling powerful forces for 50 years through our tough, determined, and feisty journalism. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, our readers value great journalism. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing and supporting our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage. Together, we can continue to hold the powerful accountable and bring important stories to light. Subscribe now or donate for as little as $1 and be a part of the Arkansas Times community.

Previous article Sunday open line Next article Dark money takes over the political process