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.