People of the St. Paul skyways, please take note: Changes are afoot, beginning with midnight closings in some places.

By a vote of 6-1, the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday approved a significant overhaul of the city’s skyway codes.

The new rules don’t require that downtown St. Paul building owners close their skyway links at midnight, but they allow them to do so, eliminating longtime requirements that most skyways remain open until at least 2 a.m.

Some building owners have said they’ll jump at the chance to close off skyway bridges as early as possible, given their experience with petty crime, litter and homeless people camping out at all hours. In fact, several building owners had begged to no avail to be allowed to close skyway connections by 8 p.m.

Other downtown residents — including seniors and the disabled — had said early closings would force them into wintry streets after an opera or hockey game.

“I know that no one is entirely happy with where we’re at,” said Council Member Rebecca Noecker, who drafted the rules based in part on input from downtown residents and business owners on three advisory boards.

“I think it’s going to disproportionately impact folks in the disability community,” said Council Member Dai Thao on Wednesday, before casting the sole dissenting vote against Noecker’s ordinance amendment.

The new rules require building owners to maintain manned video surveillance or install foot patrols, with formal plans reviewed by St. Paul Police and approved by the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI).

Police officers will no longer be required to issue warnings for first offenses, and may instead issue citations at their discretion.

The new rules call for the city and private property owners to post signage in their respective buildings explaining the code of conduct, with signs provided by the city for uniformity.

At Noecker’s request, the council also passed a resolution Wednesday encouraging downtown property owners to share skyway security, and requesting DSI to educate building owners and users about changes to the skyway code.