Des Moines, Iowa, United States
Des Moines Skywalk System
The Des Moines Skywalk System is a network of enclosed second-level bridges and corridors of about four miles linking offices, hotels, parking garages and the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines. The City of Des Moines owns the bridges over public streets, while private building owners own the corridors through their buildings and grant public easements under recorded skywalk agreements. A municipal code article, a Skywalk Committee and a private dues-paying Skywalk Association govern hours, closures and security.
Governance
Who owns it, who runs it, what the rules are.
- Owner
- The City owns the skywalk bridges over public rights-of-way, which pass to it on council acceptance. Private owners keep the corridors inside their buildings but grant public pedestrian easements under recorded skywalk agreements. The City also built corridors inside its own parking garages.
- Operator
- Day-to-day security, surveillance, maintenance and repair of corridors fall to the Des Moines Skywalk Association, a private dues-paying body of property owners. The Association contracts private security. Operation Downtown provides cleaning and ambassador services, and the City Engineering Department maintains the bridges.
- Hours
- The municipal code sets 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily. The 2023 Uniform Amendment sets regular hours of 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. for signing owners. Since late 2023 seven doors have been locked from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., except for at least two hours after events at the Iowa Events Center or Civic Center.Enforced[02]
- Public right
- Under Sec. 102-330(b), open portions must be available to the general public without discrimination. Private owners whose property the system crosses may not block portions designated as open. Corridor access rests on recorded easements that become enforceable when the council accepts them, so it is a contractual right of passage limited to the set hours.
- Who pays
- The City funds bridge structure, roofs, HVAC, lighting, signage and major finishes through the Skywalk System line of its capital program. Building owners pay for and maintain their corridors. They also pay Skywalk Association dues that fund private security. The Operation Downtown SSMID, financed mainly by a property assessment, adds cleaning and ambassador patrols.
Legal instruments
- Des Moines Municipal Code, Chapter 102, skywalk article (incl. Secs. 102-320/102-360, 102-322, 102-324, 102-328, 102-330) ↗Sets skywalk standards of usage, including public hours of 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. and open access without discrimination. Bars owners from blocking open portions and prohibits obstructive loitering. Creates the five-member Skywalk Committee.[01]
- Skywalk Agreements (recorded with the Polk County Recorder) ↗Property-by-property contracts, many dating from 1980-1982, under which owners build corridors, grant public easements and accept maintenance duties. The City pays for or takes title to bridges.[09]
- Uniform Amendment to the City of Des Moines Skywalk Agreement Regarding Duration and Hours of Operation (Roll Call No. 23-0918, 2023) ↗Extends signing owners' agreements to July 1, 2063 and requires Skywalk Association membership. Sets regular hours of 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and delegates requests for discretionary closures to the Association, subject to Skywalk Committee approval.[02]
- Downtown Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District (Operation Downtown) agreement ↗The City's agreement with the downtown SSMID lists improvement of the skywalk system, including maintenance, cleaning and security, among its authorised services.[07]
Governing bodies
Open issues
- Overnight door locks that began in 2023 to curb people sleeping in the skywalk drew complaints from downtown residents who lost indoor routes to their parking garages.
- The code's 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. hours differ from the 10 p.m. closing in the 2023 agreement amendment, and the two have not been publicly reconciled.
- Ageing bridges need multi-phase exterior repairs; a 2026 bid round drew no bidders and contractors cited high costs.
- In 2026 council members asked for the cost of demolishing or mothballing at least one lightly used bridge over 5th Avenue, opening a rightsizing debate.
- Downtown groups are reworking the system's image through the Skywalks Reimagined art program and a full replacement of wayfinding signage.
Timeline
- The first downtown skywalk bridge opens; it predates the later integrated system.[13]
- A skywalk agreement for the Ruan Center property at 666 Grand Avenue is recorded with the Polk County Recorder on November 21, among the earliest agreements of the modern system.[09]
- Build-out of the integrated skywalk system gets under way.[13]
- The City Council considers funding a Street Safety Patrol run by Operation Downtown to provide cleaning and security in the skywalks and parking garages, funded by a fee of $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.[08]
- Council acceptance of Nationwide-built bridges 9D-10D and 10C-10D transfers the bridges to city ownership and makes the private corridor easements enforceable.[06]
- Ordinance No. 15,000 amends Sec. 102-330 and other sections on the use of mobility devices; the restated section keeps skywalk hours of 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.[01]
- City staff report that the Skywalk Committee has never formally met for lack of a quorum and propose that the Skywalk Association nominate three of its five members.[14]
- On June 26 the City Council approves a Uniform Amendment to skywalk agreements (Roll Call No. 23-0918) that extends agreements to July 1, 2063, requires Skywalk Association membership and sets regular hours of 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.[02]
- In late September the Skywalk Association begins locking seven doors from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. as a trial expected to last one to two years.[05]
- The City Council approves an amended skywalk corridor surface lease that lets Downtown DSM, Inc. install the Joywalk art project in city parking-garage corridors.[10]
- The first Skywalks Reimagined art installations are completed under the Downtown DSM: Future Forward plan.[11]
- The City orders construction of a $550,000 replacement of skywalk wayfinding signage based on a Wayfinding Master Plan dated March 25, 2026.[04]
- The City designates a $1,045,700 low bid for Phase 1 exterior repairs to 12 bridges along Grand Avenue, after council members asked for the cost of demolishing or mothballing bridge 4E-5E over 5th Avenue.[03]
What it cost · who pays
- Skywalk Exterior Improvements Phase 1 (12 bridges) · 2026
- US$1,045,700Low bid by Minturn, Inc.: $972,700 base bid plus $73,000 to repair bridge 4E-5E. Funded from the Skywalk System line of the 2026-27 CIP.[03]
- Estimated demolition of bridge 4E-5E · 2026
- US$500,000 to US$750,000City estimate, including restoration of adjoining building walls. Mothballing was estimated at $75,000 plus ongoing HVAC costs.[03]
- Skywalk signage replacement · 2026
- US$550,000City Engineer's estimate. Funded from the 2026-27 CIP Skywalk System line.[04]
- Skywalk capital funding remaining · 2026
- about US$2.1 million (FY2027), US$1.35 million (FY2028), US$500,000 each (FY2029 and FY2030)City Capital Improvement Program funding for bridge roofs, HVAC, lighting, signage and finishes.[03]
The story
Des Moines opened its first downtown skywalk bridge in 1969, but the integrated system dates from the early 1980s. From 1980 the City signed skywalk agreements with the owners of new towers such as the Ruan Center. The owners built or financed corridors inside their buildings and recorded public easements across them, while the bridges over city streets passed to the City. Build-out of the connected network began in 1982 and continued with additions such as the Nationwide bridges accepted in 2003.
Today the system runs for about four miles at second-floor level. It links office towers, hotels, apartments, municipal parking garages and the Iowa Events Center between the Court Avenue district and the Western Gateway. In 2026 the City reported owning 52 bridges. It is responsible for their structure, roofs, heating and cooling, lighting, signage and major interior finishes. Building owners remain responsible for the corridors inside their properties.
The legal basis is a skywalk article in Chapter 102 of the Des Moines Municipal Code. Section 102-330 opens bridges and corridors to the public from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, regardless of age, race, disability or other protected characteristics. It forbids property owners from blocking portions designated as open. A five-member Skywalk Committee, a subcommittee of the Urban Design Review Board, can approve extended or reduced hours. City staff reported in 2015 that the committee had never formally met for lack of a quorum, and its nominations were then reorganised so the Skywalk Association names three of the five members.
Day-to-day operation rests largely with the private sector. The Des Moines Skywalk Association, a dues-paying body of property owners, is responsible for security, surveillance, maintenance and repair, and it contracts private guards. Operation Downtown is a self-supported municipal improvement district funded mainly by a downtown property assessment. Its authorised services include skywalk maintenance, cleaning and security. Downtown DSM, Inc. leases display space in city-built corridors and runs placemaking projects.
In June 2023 the City Council approved a Uniform Amendment to the skywalk agreements. It extends signing owners' agreements to 2063, makes Skywalk Association membership mandatory and sets regular hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. It also hands the Association the power to request discretionary closures, subject to Skywalk Committee approval. That September the Association began locking seven doors overnight as a trial, citing people sleeping in the corridors. Residents who use the system to reach their parking garages objected.
The system's condition and size are now under debate. The City is replacing skywalk wayfinding signage for an estimated $550,000 under a 2026 master plan, and Downtown DSM's Skywalks Reimagined program has installed art in several corridors. A 2026 exterior repair contract for 12 bridges came in at more than $1 million after an earlier bid round drew no bids. Council members also asked for the cost of demolishing or mothballing one bridge over 5th Avenue, the first public step toward rightsizing the network.
Questions people ask
Who owns the Des Moines skywalk?
What are the Des Moines skywalk hours?
Why does the Des Moines skywalk lock doors at night?
Who pays for the Des Moines skywalk?
Who sets the rules for the Des Moines skywalk?
How long is the Des Moines skywalk?
Sources
- Ordinance No. 15,000 (amending Sec. 102-330, Standards of usage) — City of Des Moines (2011)primary
- Resolution Approving Uniform Amendment to Skywalk Agreements (Roll Call No. 23-0918) — City of Des Moines (2023)primary
- Council Communication No. 26-270: Skywalk Exterior Improvements Phase 1 — City of Des Moines (2026)primary
- Council Communication No. 26-144: Downtown Skywalk Signage Replacement — City of Des Moines (2026)primary
- Overnight skywalk closures have angered some downtown Des Moines residents. Here's why — Des Moines Register (via Yahoo News) (2023)
- Council Communication No. 03-120: Acceptance of Skywalk Bridges 9D-10D, 10C-10D — City of Des Moines (2003)primary
- Council Communication No. 14-370: Downtown SSMID operating agreement — City of Des Moines (2014)primary
- Council Communication No. 97-507: Operation Downtown Street Safety Patrol — City of Des Moines (1997)primary
- Resolution Approving Uniform Skywalk Amendment for Property Located at 666 Grand Ave (Roll Call No. 24-1357) — City of Des Moines (2024)primary
- Approval of First Amended and Restated Skywalk Corridor Surface Lease Agreement with Downtown DSM, Inc. (Roll Call No. 24-1732) — City of Des Moines (2024)primary
- Skywalks Reimagined: Downtown Skywalk Sections to be Transformed Through Art — Greater Des Moines Partnership / Downtown DSM (2025)primary
- Working Downtown: Skywalk Access — Downtown DSM USAprimary
- Skywalks: The winter beaters of Des Moines — Geoff Schumacher (blog) (2012)
- Council Communication No. 15-045: Skywalk Committee member composition — City of Des Moines (2015)primary
About this record
Confidence high · reviewed 2026-10-19. Governance facts come from city council documents read in full: the code text, the 2023 Uniform Amendment and the 2026 council communications. Several gaps remain for a human to check. (1) Whether Sec. 102-330 was itself amended after 2023 to match the 10 p.m. closing. The code text verified here is the 2011 restatement, and the live Municode page was not fetched. (2) Section numbering moved between 102-320 in 2015 and 102-360 in 2020, so confirm the current number for the Skywalk Committee. (3) An earlier council document reportedly cited 58 city-owned bridges, while the 2026 figure is 52; the drop may reflect removals or a different counting basis. (4) Length of about 4 miles is a Downtown DSM figure, and one consultant reference says 4.2 miles. (5) The 1969 and 1982 dates come from a 2012 blog rather than a primary source. (6) Whether the overnight lock trial continued past 2025 was not confirmed. (7) Whether the council chose to repair, mothball or demolish bridge 4E-5E in August 2026 was not confirmed.
Map geometry: 63 corridor features, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), as of 2026-10-20. Levels come from OpenStreetMap tags and can be incomplete.
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