Minneapolis Residents Take to the Sky
Minneapolis is known for being cold — extremely cold. But when the temperatures drop and the wind chill bites, how do local residents cope and still carry on with their day-to-day lives?
Luckily for locals, Minneapolis is a city built to handle the worst that winter dishes out.
While -10 degrees Celsius is about average for this time of year in Minneapolis, the city has its way of handling that: the Skyway. Here, the majority of downtown buildings are connected by elevated and enclosed pedestrian footbridges — the longest continuous system of skywalks in the world. The Skyway allows residents to walk in climate-controlled comfort for more than 18 kilometers across 80 full city blocks.
The Minneapolis Skyway is more than just a way for residents to get to work; it’s a city within a city. It has shops and bars, restaurants and hotels. There are a thousand different things you can do within the Skyway without actually having to step foot outside.
But just because the residents have the luxury of remaining indoors almost all day long, that doesn’t mean they do.
“We are one of the most active places in the country, and it doesn’t matter what the weather is,” said local business owner Brad Rohles. “It could be -20 degrees outside and you’re driving down the road, and you’re going to see more bicycles than cars on the street. People are running and training for marathons in the middle of January."
This is key to understanding the mindset of Minneapolis. The city was named the fittest in America by the American College of Sports Medicine in 2017, a remarkable achievement considering the weather residents have to deal with.
