Spokane, Washington, United States

Spokane Skywalk System

SkywayPrivately ownedActiveBuilt for cold

Spokane's skywalk system is a network of second-level pedestrian bridges and corridors covering about 13 to 14 blocks of the downtown core, linking River Park Square, the Parkade and other buildings. The bridges are privately built and maintained under City Council permits for use of public airspace. Spokane Municipal Code Chapter 12.02, Article III caps each permit at 25 years, sets minimum operating hours and bars permittees from excluding adjoining owners who wish to connect.

Blocks connected13 to 14Wikipedia gives 13 blocks in one article and 14 in another, and its list of skyways gives 16.[01]

LevelApproximately second floorRequired level of connection under the code's policy section.[03]

Minimum hours (code)Open no later than 10 a.m. and close no earlier than 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday (holidays excluded)SMC 12.02.0500; beyond this, hours follow the needs of the owners who built and run each skywalk.[04]

Maximum permit term25 yearsSMC 12.02.0430, as amended in 2018.[06]

OwnershipPrivate, under City airspace permits

Governance

Who owns it, who runs it, what the rules are.

Owner: Property owners who apply for City permits to use public airspace build and own the skywalk bridges, and they own the corridors inside their buildings. The City keeps the street right-of-way and can revoke or terminate a permit early, paying amortised compensation.
Operator: Each permittee building owner operates and maintains its own skywalk. The City's director of engineering services enforces permit conditions, and a mayor-appointed hearing officer and the Hearing Examiner hear disputes.
Hours: Hours follow the needs and business hours of the owners who built and run each skywalk, together with the City Council's view of public safety and convenience. Central business district skywalks must open by 10 a.m. and stay open until at least 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday, holidays excluded. The Council is directed to seek uniform hours across the system.[04]
Public right: The code reserves skywalks for pedestrian passage and promotes maximum public access. A permittee cannot use its permit to stop another adjacent owner from joining the system. The code guarantees only minimum daytime hours on weekdays and Saturdays, so passage outside those hours depends on each owner.
Who pays: Permittees must fully maintain and repair their skywalks and share costs in fair proportions, by agreement or arbitration, based on construction contribution and fault. The code includes cost-apportionment rules for latecomers who later join. Public funding for the skywalks was not identified.

Legal instruments

Spokane Municipal Code Chapter 12.02, Article III (Skywalks), SMC 12.02.0405-12.02.0520 ↗Declares a City policy of approving skywalks over streets and alleys in principle. Requires an application, Hearing Examiner evaluation and a City Attorney-approved indemnification agreement. Covers maintenance, hours, public access, cost apportionment, arbitration, revocation and early termination.[07]
SMC 12.02.0430 Agreement - Conditions - Indemnification (Ord. C35592, 2018) ↗Requires a signed agreement identifying the airspace, full indemnification of the City and a lien for removal costs on revocation. Caps permit terms at 25 years.[06]
SMC 12.02.0505 Early Permit Termination - Compensation (Ord. C35592, 2018) ↗Lets the City end a permit early for public convenience or need. The City pays removal costs and compensates the permittee on construction cost amortised over the permit term.[08]
SMC 12.02.0480 Public Access - Expansion ↗Encourages expansion for maximum public access. Adjacent properties must be allowed to join where a connection is physically and economically feasible, as determined by the City Council.[05]

Governing bodies

Spokane City CouncilCity of Spokane Hearing ExaminerCity of Spokane director of engineering servicesIndividual permittee building owners

Open issues

The 2018 25-year permit cap and early-termination compensation rules give the City a defined way to remove skywalks, but the cases that prompted them were not identified.
Recent individual skywalk removals were reported to the researcher but could not be confirmed with sources in this round.

Timeline

1973A carbon monoxide dispersion study of downtown Spokane uses computer modelling to inform skywalk layout.[02]
2007The skywalk article of the Spokane Municipal Code is recodified as Chapter 12.02, Article III (Ordinance C34053), covering hours, maintenance, public access and revocation.[04]
2018Ordinance C35592 limits skywalk permits to a maximum term of 25 years and sets compensation for early termination based on construction cost amortised over the permit term.[06]
2022Ordinance C36205 rewrites the article's findings and policy sections, reaffirming the City's approval in principle of skywalks over streets and alleys and the right of adjoining owners to join.[03]

The story

Spokane has one of the more extensive skywalk networks in the United States. Second-level bridges and corridors tie together about 13 or 14 blocks of the downtown core around River Park Square, the Parkade and the retail and office buildings near Riverside and Main avenues. The system is used for crossing streets in cold or wet weather and for retail space. Links to parking garages such as the Parkade make it quicker to reach buildings several blocks away.

The legal basis is Article III of Chapter 12.02 of the Spokane Municipal Code. It finds that skywalks in the airspace over streets do not interfere with the street's use as a public right-of-way. It declares a City policy of approving them in principle to relieve congestion and separate pedestrians from vehicles. Applicants must file with the City and go through Hearing Examiner review against Comprehensive Plan criteria. They must also sign a City Attorney-approved agreement that indemnifies the City and makes removal costs a lien on their property if the permit is revoked.

The code is notable for treating the network as a shared system rather than a set of private bridges. A permit cannot be used to exclude a neighbouring owner who wants to connect, and the City Council decides whether a connection is feasible. Maintenance costs are shared among owners by agreement or arbitration, and there are rules for charging latecomers. Hours are left largely to building owners, but the code requires central business district skywalks to be open from at least 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday, and directs the Council to seek uniform hours.

Amendments in 2018 and 2022 reshaped the City's leverage. Ordinance C35592 capped permits at 25 years and set a compensation formula for early termination, based on construction cost amortised over the permit term, with the City paying for removal. Ordinance C36205 in 2022 restated the findings and policy sections. These changes give Spokane one of the clearer municipal frameworks for retiring individual skywalks, although the specific removals that followed were not documented in the sources reviewed.

Questions people ask

Who owns the Spokane skywalks?

Private property owners build, own and maintain the skywalks under City Council permits to use public airspace over streets and alleys. The City keeps the right-of-way and can revoke or terminate permits.

What are the Spokane skywalk hours?

Each owner sets hours according to its business needs, but the city code requires downtown skywalks to open by 10 a.m. and close no earlier than 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday, holidays excluded.

Can the City of Spokane remove a skywalk?

Yes. Permits run for at most 25 years, and the City can revoke a permit for violations or end it early for public need. On early termination the City pays removal costs and compensates the owner on amortised construction cost.

Can a building owner block a neighbour from connecting to the Spokane skywalk?

No. The code says a skywalk permit does not give the holder the right to stop another adjacent owner from joining, where a connection is physically and economically feasible.

Sources

Downtown Spokane — Wikipedia (2026)
Skyway — Wikipedia (2026)
SMC 12.02.0410 Policy - Purpose — City of Spokane (2022)primary
SMC 12.02.0500 Hours of Operation — City of Spokane (2007)primary
SMC 12.02.0480 Public Access - Expansion — City of Spokane (2007)primary
SMC 12.02.0430 Agreement - Conditions - Indemnification — City of Spokane (2018)primary
Spokane Municipal Code Chapter 12.02 (Article III, Skywalks) — City of Spokane (2026)primary
SMC 12.02.0505 Early Permit Termination - Compensation — City of Spokane (2018)primary
SMC 12.02.0434 Maintenance — City of Spokane (2007)primary
SMC 12.02.0405 Findings — City of Spokane (2022)primary
SMC 12.02.0510 Revocation - Suspension — City of Spokane (2007)primary

About this record

Confidence medium · reviewed 2026-10-19. Governance is primary-sourced from the live Spokane Municipal Code, eight Article III sections read in full or summarised. History and extent are thin because the session's web-search budget ran out before Spokane-specific searches could run. Several items need a human. (1) The first skywalk year and build-out decades, likely the 1960s to 1990s, are unverified. (2) The extent conflicts, with Wikipedia citing 13, 14 or 16 blocks, and no length or bridge count was found. (3) The recent removals mentioned in the assignment could not be confirmed; check Spokesman-Review coverage around the 2018 Ordinance C35592 and 2022 Ordinance C36205. (4) Whether downtown Spokane's business improvement district has any skywalk role is unknown. (5) SMC 12.02.0476, Limitation on Permits, and 12.02.0520, Exceptions, were not read. Ownership is coded 'private' because the code makes permittees build and maintain the bridges, but the City holds the underlying right-of-way.

Map geometry: 40 corridor features, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), as of 2026-10-20. Levels come from OpenStreetMap tags and can be incomplete.

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Spokane Skywalk System

SkywayPrivately ownedActiveBuilt for cold

Who owns it, who runs it, what the rules are.

Owner

Property owners who apply for City permits to use public airspace build and own the skywalk bridges, and they own the corridors inside their buildings. The City keeps the street right-of-way and can revoke or terminate a permit early, paying amortised compensation.

Operator

Each permittee building owner operates and maintains its own skywalk. The City's director of engineering services enforces permit conditions, and a mayor-appointed hearing officer and the Hearing Examiner hear disputes.

Hours

Hours follow the needs and business hours of the owners who built and run each skywalk, together with the City Council's view of public safety and convenience. Central business district skywalks must open by 10 a.m. and stay open until at least 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday, holidays excluded. The Council is directed to seek uniform hours across the system.[04]

Public right

The code reserves skywalks for pedestrian passage and promotes maximum public access. A permittee cannot use its permit to stop another adjacent owner from joining the system. The code guarantees only minimum daytime hours on weekdays and Saturdays, so passage outside those hours depends on each owner.

Who pays

Permittees must fully maintain and repair their skywalks and share costs in fair proportions, by agreement or arbitration, based on construction contribution and fault. The code includes cost-apportionment rules for latecomers who later join. Public funding for the skywalks was not identified.

Legal instruments

Spokane Municipal Code Chapter 12.02, Article III (Skywalks), SMC 12.02.0405-12.02.0520 ↗Declares a City policy of approving skywalks over streets and alleys in principle. Requires an application, Hearing Examiner evaluation and a City Attorney-approved indemnification agreement. Covers maintenance, hours, public access, cost apportionment, arbitration, revocation and early termination.[07]

SMC 12.02.0430 Agreement - Conditions - Indemnification (Ord. C35592, 2018) ↗Requires a signed agreement identifying the airspace, full indemnification of the City and a lien for removal costs on revocation. Caps permit terms at 25 years.[06]

SMC 12.02.0505 Early Permit Termination - Compensation (Ord. C35592, 2018) ↗Lets the City end a permit early for public convenience or need. The City pays removal costs and compensates the permittee on construction cost amortised over the permit term.[08]

SMC 12.02.0480 Public Access - Expansion ↗Encourages expansion for maximum public access. Adjacent properties must be allowed to join where a connection is physically and economically feasible, as determined by the City Council.[05]

Governing bodies

Spokane City CouncilCity of Spokane Hearing ExaminerCity of Spokane director of engineering servicesIndividual permittee building owners

Open issues

The 2018 25-year permit cap and early-termination compensation rules give the City a defined way to remove skywalks, but the cases that prompted them were not identified.

Recent individual skywalk removals were reported to the researcher but could not be confirmed with sources in this round.

The story