Deseret Morning News: Skybridges kill street life

A University of Utah graduate student has compiled a report on skybridges, concluding that they kill street life.

The Deseret Morning News reports that Kathleen Hill has studied the skybridge proposed for a LDS Church's City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake City and has called it "an outdated and inferior design".

The 43-page report called "Preserving Life on the Street" (PDF) cites several sources that say that skybridges hinder pedestrian street life and segregate uses, which would weaken the sense of community upon which the city was built.

Taubman Centers Inc., the church's development partner for the project, says that the skybridge is vital to the project's success because the additional retail will help the project complete with suburban retail centers.

Some city council members doubt the claims that excluding the skybridge means failure for the project.

They are set to vote on the proposal tonight.