Rox Laird, a Register editorial writer, has a short piece about what to do with Nollen Plaza in downtown Des Moines.
I’ve spent plenty of time eating lunch in Nollen Plaza during all seasons and I’ve never seen the “lunchtime crowds” he mentions. If you count homeless people, there are maybe a total of 20 people ever in the plaza. The lunchtime crowds are all eating at the food court at Kaleidoscope at The Hub.
The number one thing Des Moines can do to improve the public space of Nollen Plaza is rip out the entire skywalk system. While Des Moines likes to brag about it’s skywalk system, it has the effect of making the city less urban by separating cars and pedestrians. In addition, it makes all public space into commercial space by having offices and restaurants line the skywalks. Once you get people back on the streets you’ll get a much better city.
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I agree Mike, but it will never happen. I don’t think that downtown Des Moines will ever thrive because most folks in Metropolitan Des Moines don’t care for cities. They want nothing to do with downtown. The congestion, hustle and bustle, etc. that I like about cities, most of my Iowan friends find abhorrent. Throw in parking and having to walk more than a block… forget about it.
Mores the pity.
Really? You’ve never seen more than 20 people at Nollen Plaza?? I’ve been going downtown for lunch on Fridays in the summer for several years, and there are ALWAYS way more than 20, not including homeless. I don’t work, so we usually linger long after the businesspeople have had to go back to work – it is pretty deserted after 1:30 or so – but there are definitely lunchtime crowds, when it’s nice out.
As to your idea about skywalks – I agree. Skywalks destroy any hope at a pedestrian community, which is what makes a thriving downtown. But I think Des Moines just needs to give up – it’s trying to force something that most residents just simply do not want.
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