The city of St. Paul never asked downtown building owners to close their skyway bridge connections, but some have done so anyway in light of the coronavirus pandemic. They could soon face violation notices from City Hall.

Shortly after Gov. Tim Walz issued his March 23 executive stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus pandemic, “Treasure Island Center, Metro Transit and the St. Paul Athletic Club went rogue and just closed,” said Bill Hanley, chair of the city’s Skyway Governance Advisory Committee.

On Wednesday, the St. Paul City Council reaffirmed at its regularly scheduled meeting that the downtown skyways should remain open to allow residents access to needed services, including the Central Station and Union Depot light rail stops, bank ATMs and the Walgreens pharmacy in Treasure Island Center.

“This morning Treasure Island has reopened,” Hanley said on Thursday, “but the others have not, severing the (access) at Central Station.”

Some building owners have expressed concern about security and possible virus spread, but city officials say foot traffic is light, and the more than 7,000 residents who live in skyway-connected buildings depend upon the bridge connections.

Ricardo Cervantes, director of the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections, informed the council on Wednesday that closing or altering skyway hours require building owners to go through a public process with the city, and they have not. Most skyways are expected to remain open from 6 a.m. to midnight.

“The ordinance does allow exceptions to these hours, but that is through a process which requires city council approval,” he said. “The skyway provides weather protection for residents if they need to get to … retail outlets for food or prescriptions. … It also serves as a way for exercise in inclement weather.”

At his request, the city attorney’s office reviewed the governor’s executive order to see if it speaks to skyway closures.

“There’s language in there that might be interpreted as an opportunity for businesses that do not have employees to close their buildings,” Cervantes said. “What we have arrived at is the skyway could, from a legal perspective, continue to operate. It is consistent with the order from the governor’s office.”

Also based on a review requested by the city, Ramsey County Public Health determined that given the ample width of the skyways, they do allow enough space for social distancing.

Council Member Rebecca Noecker, who represents downtown, said skyway closures were unacceptable and building owners needed to keep them open. “For those that haven’t, I want to know how we are enforcing our law,” she said.

Council Member Jane Prince echoed those concerns, saying, “I’m really glad that the analysis is keeping skyways open in the near-term as a commitment to our neighbors downtown.”

Cervantes said that prior to Wednesday’s council meeting, the city had provided “guidance and communications” to those building owners that had inquired about the rules, and sent stronger language to building owners that had closed their skyway bridges “putting them on notice.”