Gee, I can hardly contain my excitement over news that downtown Peoria is going to get a new skywalk.
“We decided to move ahead with a skywalk project connecting 401 Water Street with buildings being renovated on Commercial Street,” said developer Kert Huber.
“It’s a $5 million to $6 million project. We’re doing this because the museum went forward. If the citizens of the area hadn’t got behind it, I would have walked away,” he said.
And then where would Peoria be? Imagine what would have happened had we lost this skywalk project: All those high-end condominium residents would have to walk outside to visit renovated buildings across Commercial Street. Oh, the indignity! Thank heavens the museum referendum passed so we didn’t miss this exciting development. [end sarcasm]
The real shame is that these skywalks, which are becoming more and more common in Peoria regrettably, will only hurt downtown commerce, not help it. Studies I’ve quoted in a previous post tell the story. Here’s a quote from Kathleen Hill:
Skywalk design in North America has frequently been critiqued for the barriers it has created between different levels of pedestrian circulation. (Cornell University, Transport and Society May 10, 2007) Skywalks are pedestrian bridges linking buildings at the second floor level creating a second-level city….
Critics of skywalks maintain that their proliferation has reduced street level activity. Kent Robertson (Pedestrianization Strategies for Downtown Planners, Journal of the American Planning Association, Summer 1993) states that businesses located on the street level have closed due to lack of pedestrian traffic and property values have declined. Kurt Anderson (Fast Life Along the Skywalks, Time Magazine, August 1988)
reports this lack of street level pedestrians and activities creates the perception of an inactive and dull downtown, stating that skywalks negatively impact street level retail and social activities.Some city planners feel that street level retail shops are the key to a vital and multi-use downtown. Critics are also concerned with the privatization of these public spaces and a separation of people based on class. Many of the skywalks link upscale hotels, shops and professional offices signaling to many low and moderate income people that they are not welcome.
So in addition to a museum block that will be devoid of street life because of its defective design, it’s spurring more development that will likewise keep pedestrians off the street. But since Peoria’s mantra is “all development is good development,” the project is promoted as an exciting, positive change for Peoria.
Behind the curve — AGAIN! Just like the late entry into the Crispy Creme Donut market (now closed), another development which is outdated. Yet another regrettable development idea who time has passed.
Rules of the the road: Grade ‘our’ attempt to put Peoria on the map…..
— Museums must understand how corporations work in order to successfully ask for support.
Where exactly is CAT going? Does PRM know? Does CAT know? Does anyone know?!?
— Museums should be strategic in their requests; demonstrate how their needs fit the needs of the corporation[s].
— When competition for money is fierce and the economy is tough, it is crucial to engage in strategic partnerships that will result in strong marketing opportunities. Marketing on the other hand is not considered “tangible value” according to the law.
Ouch! Seems like the only good thing [sort of] the PRM was good at was marketing, but then again……..
— The Sarbanes-Oxley Act mandates (among other things) that public companies be able to demonstrate to shareholders how corporate donations benefit the company’s bottom-line.
Check this out… maybe someone at CAT has a copy of this mandate at home. Can we get a sky-walk to the visitor’s center please?
— However, corporations recognize that philanthropy does contribute to a healthy economy, thereby contributing to the bottom-line.
There is philanthropy [according to CAT], and then there is philanthropy!
— In the past, corporate sponsorships and donations were considered separate activities, but that seems to be changing.
In Peoria?
— Museums must be willing to adjust the “fixed menu” of benefits available to corporations———-
I believe, in all fairness, the PRM did ask the public to help name the museum….
Does that count? It was generous of Lakeview to allow CAT to tag along……..
— Offer the corporate name in the name of an event sponsored by the corporation, because unless the name is part of the event itself, the media will often neglect to mention who is sponsoring the event.
Does CAT really have that problem in Peoria?
I think I already know the answer to this question, but…….
Where will the $5 or $6 million for this project come from?
Are the “citizens of the area” behind the skywalk project?
I mean really behind it?!?
The $6 million is private money for a private project between two private buildings.
Instead of ripping on a private developer who has only done good things for Peoria why don’t you call him and interview him about this project and get more details.
What have you done for Peoria?
CJ- I really suggest you move out of Peoria like you were thinking.
Peoriafan asks me, “What have you done for Peoria?”
Answer: Haven’t you heard? I’m an investor in the Civic Center, RiverPlex, zoo expansion, a new downtown hotel, and just recently a new museum, among many many other projects. Now I know you’ll want to discount that because I probably don’t commit nearly as much money as some other people in Peoria (maybe even you) — but don’t underestimate my contribution. According to civic leaders and private developers, they couldn’t do these projects without my money. I’ll be making another contribution in June; I just got my bill.
I just got a Trojan upon coming on your site. My software detected this:
Exploit-PDF.f (trojan)
Just FYI.
Yes, my a/v stopped the same trojan about 3 days ago while loading your site.
Now we know why Dist. 150 was down all weekend!! Those Admins are readiing your site!!!
Touche’ CJ!
CJ gives more of his time to this city than it deserves. I don’t know how he keeps giving and giving and getting nothing but grief in return. Writing a check is easy, investing yourself is hard.
Carol & Emtronics — Thanks for reporting the problem. I’m working on fixing it.
Peoriafan,
I doubt that C.J. wrote his post as a personal attack against anyone. Now I on the other hand have no problem attacking anybody!
Really though……….. Gateway Building, museum, skywalk, etc…………………
What will it take for people like you to say enough?!? Despite overwhelming evidence that shows projects, like those listed above, do nothing to stimulate economic growth, they are constantly being supported by the ‘powers that be’ in this city! In fact, many studies show that these ‘feel good’ projects often turn into ‘black holes’.
Do YOU have any comments about the second half of C.J.’s post? Any comments about the “Hill Study?” I realize she is from Cornell University. Maybe if she were from Bradley, people in this town would listen up!
When we go to the riverfront for events, etc, my son [age 8] always makes it a point to ask me what that building is for [Gateway]. My other son [age 12] always answers, “no one knows!”
Now. If someone wants to build a $6 million private skywalk, using private money, fine……., but please, don’t kick us in the ‘privates’. Don’t try and make this look like the developer is doing the city and it’s people a great big favor.
Glad I read the comments. When opening the Peoria Chronical site, a PDF file started without provacation. It showed up as “Adobe.xpi”
Can’t see the logic of the proposed skywalk. Usually it would be provided for a high traffic connection such as high population residence and shopping or service, or work facilities with people interfacing with different areas.
peoriafan is right CJ. You should move and leave peoria to zombies like peoriafan. People like him embrace every bad idea the establhishment thinks up, and dismiss anyone who thinks for him/herself as “naysayer” or a “troublemaker”.
What makes you think Peoria fan is a male?
Cincinnati has a bunch a skywalks. As a consequence the outside is virtually dead during the day. At night and on weekends their downtown is a ‘ghost town’.
I love you, Mouse!
OK… everybody… line up, when its your turn sound off with age, sex, predominant skin color and sexual preference….
kcdad! Sir! 53, male, rose quartz, hetero
Here’s another story explaining why skywalks are an outdated, embarrassinng urban planning disaster. http://www.walkablestreets.com/skywalk.htm. Please note that this article is nearly FOUR YEARS OLD. Other cities such as Cincinnati, Dallas Des Moines and Hartford, CT recognized this mistake YEARS ago – yet developers here are just now jumping on a 1960s urban planning concept that has been recognized as an utter failure in other places?
These Peoria developers are so out of date and out of touch, it’s grim beyond belief. Are these guys so insulated from progress in other places that they could be so clueless?
What Peoria really needs, and what would really be cool, would be one of those skywalk, over-the-highway McDonalds, Burger King, etc, you see going into Chicago!
I’ll take a burger, fries, coke and govt. earmark to go………..
Peoria… think about it. People… we have been the suckers for every new old or retred idea since John Watson was kicked out of the field of Psychology and entered Advertising.
We are hard working, honest, gullible and trusting… if our leaders or experts tell us something WE BELIEVE THEM.
We don’t think for ourselves anymore… with very few exceptions… we wait for someone else to tell us what to think. Listen to the WMBD… all day long they are telling you what to think, in between the 35 minutes of commercials and promotional ads each hour! Watch TV… twice as much time is devoted to advertising today as 1980. 18-20 minutes per program hour is advertising.
Swine flu, avian flu, SARS, economic collapse, fascism, socialism, flooding, terrorists, gun control, smoking bans, drug wars, illegal aliens… stop the madness…
NONE of this effects 99% of the population except how we allow it to.
We need the walkways, and new hotels and museums and Big Als and street lights in alleys… WE NEED IT! That is not what I meant… I meant to say… We DESERVE it. We deserve everything the government does to us. We refused to listen to Washington , Jefferson and others who warned us about the dangers of party politics and career politicians and civic employees. But we didn’t care as long as our economy kept expanding… a million here and billion there, a trillion WAAAAAAY over there… no big deal. I still got my cable TV.
CJ is innocent of all charges for shutting down the PSD website. His blog is prohibited from loading on a district computer. 🙂
Another skywalk is very unfortunate. A quick Google search brings up many articles about the negatives of skywalks for downtown revitalization. One would hope that before spending millions of dollars on one Mr. Huber (and the City of Peoria) might do a little research….perhaps contacting the cities of Cincinnati and Baltimore to find out why they have decided to tear down theirs.
CJ, thank you for all that you do. You do and care more for Peoria than most!
and now the Radisson is out. The signs are down and now it seems to be called Peoria Castle Lodge. But, we will build a new hotel and a museum.
For once I agree with kcdad.
well, Emtronics, kcdad makes a number of good points. I have ranted about career politicians a number of times, and I view them – of whatever stripe – as public enemy number one. I think he misstates the radio, however. You hear a lot of different views on the radio, many more than on the TV, which is almost worthless. Someone on the radio recently made the same point kcdad made about the notion that economic prosperity = freedom, and vice versa. It just isn’t true. Nazi Germany was a very prosperous – and technologicall advanced – country. Saudi Arabia has zero unemployment and most of the citizens live in luxury, but not in freedom (non-citizens do most of the “jobs that Saudis won’t do”). It’s also worth noting that colonial America was among the most prosperous places in the world in 1775, and it revolted against the British Empire under the leadeship of some of its most prosperous citizens, who pledged their “life, fortune and honor” to the cause of freedom – and meant it. There is nothing romantic about poverty, but prosperity without freedom is not a good trade (how many of you reading this would – if you could – choose to live in Nazi Germany so you could be economically prosperous?) But, like the frog in the warming water we delude ourselves into thinking the water isn’t really getting hot, as long as we are fed and entertained.
I am thinking about WMBD, for example. Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin… that is what? 9 or 10 hours of extreme right wing corporate propaganda.
Where is any voice on the other side? WCBU?
I agree with kcdad, I just vote against everything they tell me I need. The con men, gangsters and junkies, and third right run everything
I forgot Mr. no debt… Dave Ramsey… there is another 3 hours of Fox News crap. “Let’s mix religion and money together and create a radio show: Be a good Christian, pay off the moneylenders that have screwed you and this economy into a deep depression.”
‘pay off the moneylenders that have screwed you and this economy into a deep depression?” Sounds like pretty good advice to me. Makes a lot more sense than trying to borrow our way to out of debt.
Sure… let’s reward the moneylenders and speculators and encourage them to keep on doing what they have been doing… here’s a better idea…
CANCEL ALL DEBT… foreign, domestic, personal and corporate. Start all over. Those who have been benefiting from this debt system have LONG AGO made enough profit to justify this cancellation.
kramer — Interesting link. I found this particularly insightful, since museum folks have been comparing Peoria to Iowa cities quite a bit as of late:
Could this happen in Peoria? Well, the council could very well come to its senses and pass resolutions limiting the presence of skywalks. But, if AMC ever came here and said they would only build their $50 million entertainment development if we let them build a skywalk, the council would fold in a New York second. They never let the plans they’ve adopted in principle get in their way when developers wave money under their noses. Heck, we waived all zoning regs on Knoxville for a “state-of-the-art Taco Bell” just a few weeks ago. High standards, we don’t have.
And here’s a great article by a Milwaukee journalist about skywalks. He makes this observation:
Does that sound familiar? Can you say “Shoppes at Grand Prairie”? He goes on:
How about it, Peoria? Which cities would you rather emulate?
I would prefer to stop emulating other places. As for skywalks, I think its an open question how much street level vacancy there would in places like Des Moines without the skywalks. Peoria certainly does not have a vibrant downtown by any stretch of the imagination. As long you have big trucks trying to run people over by running stop lights up and down Washington Street, cars weaving around double and triple-parked delivery vehicles, road construction, and various other problems, people are not going to want to use the sidewalks and cross the streets. Not to mention bad weather days. I think you have to use skywalks along with sidewalks.
Skywalks seemed to revitalize downtown Boston.
Maybe it just depends how they are done.
Peoriafan mentioned that the project was being funded by private money/investors. What is it about this project that would make worth $6 million to anyone?
We all know the new museum will bring in millions….what is the reasoning behind the construction of new skywalks? Gain?
New Voice, Don’t be so darned naive… this is Capitalism we live in, isn’t it?
http://www.softpanorama.org/Skeptics/Financial_skeptic/Images/richpoor.jpg
6 million is the total cost of the project. The small skywalk will connect 401 Water to a group of 4 100 yr old warehouses in need of renovation. There is no street level business going on where the skywalk will be located. It being built over a alley (Commercial St.) to tie adjoining buildings together similar to what the hospitals have done. You also see this with walkways between parking decks and buildings.
NO STREET LEVEL COMMERCE WILL BE LOST AS A RESULT OF THIS SKYWALK.
The vacant warehouses will be converted to office space and added to the tax roles.
Please people, don’t just assume things because one person writes about it on a blog.
Make phone calls, the correct answers are out there.
I agree with factsplease. It’s no lie that the Warehouse District has a long way to go. Now a developer wants to put money into the area and we’re raising hob over a skywalk over an alley that’s basically under the Bob Michel Bridge? This skywalk doesn’t sound like the same sort of skywalk being proposed between the new hotel and the Civic Center, but rather the image that jumps to my mind is the skywalk between the National City building and their garage, which, while admittedly ugly and unsightly, doesn’t do much to detract from street traffic nearby.
The impetus behind this skywalk may be to link the new development on Commercial St to 401’s parking deck, which may actually help the character of the neighborhood in requiring less parking space for the new development.
Then again, if this project wasn’t proposed, I suppose someone out there would be complaining about how the city can’t find anyone to put money into the Warehouse District.
FACTSPLEASE, Sterling,
Fine and dandy!
So…………. what in the HELL does the citizens’ support of the museum have to do with any of this [and please don’t tell me that the ‘quality of life aspect’ of the proposed museum is going to make Peoria an even greater place to do business…]?
If Huber thinks this thing is worth spending $6 million on fine, but does he really need to get on the ‘museum bandwagon’ like every other misguided ‘citizen’ in this city?!?
“The vacant warehouses will be converted to office space and added to the tax roles.”
By whom for whom?
Is it that hard to understand?
Huber renovates the warehouses with his own money and then leases the space out to office tenants just like as been down many times before.
Some of you always thinks there is some big conspiracy going on.
What businesses are moving in to Peoria looking for office space? Or do you think it is an”if he builds it they will come” fantasy?
That was my question… WHAT office tenants?
Payday Loan and Check Cashing bookkeeping services?
No conspiracy……………….
Just want to know what the museum had to do with it.
Huber would have bailed if the museum tax did not pass…….
Why?
Does he REALLY think his ‘office empire’ will make or break depending on the museum? I mean REALLY?!?
you guys are really looking like idiots.
I’ve always been for the skywalk from the Civic Center to the hotels….. I must be the only one. With the winter Peoria just had, if I were staying here as a visitor, I’d sure want a skywalk tool. If you want people to walk the streets, you have to put shopping there that will draw them in. Now, if a woman visitor walks out of the Pere, they get to walk by Big Al’s. I don’t even go downtown any longer except for lunch here and there and to listen to music a couple times a year at Rhythm Kitchen. It’s next to impossible to catch a cab. The skywalk is the least of downtown Peoria’s problems. Huber has been involved in revitalizing downtowns for years, he’s a big boy and I think he knows what he is doing. Granted, money talks, but I think he’s kinda hot.
A skywalk tool? LOL That was supposed to be, “a skywalk too!” Geesh… I’m starting to feel like Sharon!!
It all depends where the skywalks go and who they serve; skywalks at the site of the museum would go no where and serve no one. one from the hotel to the civic center makes sense, just don’t go crazy on spending for it!
It only makes sense if you want to stay out of the “weather”. Poor convention people… have to walk a whole block in the “weather”…
Should we put one of those automatic walkways like in the airports? Why not just televise the convention proceedings right into their bedrooms at the hotel… or at home… then they wouldn’t have to travel at all!
I have a great idea… have the hotel buy umbrellas for their guests.
FACTSPLEASE,
I’m thinking the only idiot here is you…unless you can answer the question. If you don’t know the answer why are you even responding? Maybe you just don’t kinow the answer…?
Maybe if Huber gave $6 million to the museum…, wait a minute…, the museum needs $10 million…..
Never mind.
ahhh 6 million… remember when it was REAL money?
Does anyone remember when a trillion was one of those impossibly big numbers ?
Definitions of a trillion:
# million: a very large indefinite number (usually hyperbole); “there were millions of flies”
# the number that is represented as a one followed by 18 zeros; “in England they call a quintillion a trillion”
# one quintillion in Great Britain
# one million million in the United States
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
If you had gone into business on the day Jesus was born, and your business lost a million dollars a day, day in and day out, 365 days a year, it would take you until October 2737 to lose a trillion dollars.
Expressed in time, one trillion seconds represents 31,546 years.
Does it really matter any longer?
If you laid one dollar bills end to end, you could make a chain that stretches from earth to the moon and back again 200 times before you ran out of dollar bills. One trillion dollars would stretch nearly from the earth to the sun. It would take a military jet flying at the speed of sound, reeling out a roll of dollar bills behind it, 14 years before it reeled out one trillion dollar bills.
If you have a bucket that holds 100 thousand marbles, you would need 10 million of those same buckets to hold a trillion marbles.
there are only 400 billions stars in the Milky Way Galaxy…