Slideshow: 5 people you meet in the skyway

LaTasha Perkins, a Mayo Clinic employee Perkins stood in line at Salad Brothers Café near University Square with about a dozen other hungry patrons. She used the skyway to get out of the cold and find lunch at one of the many skyway shops that open for weekday lunch hours. Without the skyway, Perkins said her trips to the city center for lunch or a leisurely walk might be less frequent. "I think I would (get downtown) on warmer days when I’m more likely to get outside and enjoy the fresh air, but pretty much during the winter months, definitely I like to be able to use the skyway and have that accessible to me," she said.

Diane Ingvaldson, a University of Minnesota-Rochester employee Ingvaldson, left, was waiting near the staircase that leads up to the university’s third- and fourth-floor campus with a fellow UMR employee, Paula Jewell; they were expecting another downtown visitor. As UMR employees, the skyway is part of the daily work environment for Invaldson and Jewell; they walk from ramp parking to the campus, and from there to daily engagements at the university’s other skyway-attached buildings. As regular skyway users, they are also happy to direct newcomers. "People stop us for directions all the time and with questions — what to do in town, where to go," Ingvaldson said.

Casie Jefrey, a UMR student Jefrey was on her way to class at UMR, walking from 318 Commons to University Square. Jefrey is a resident at 318 Commons, which is served by a skyway connection. She uses the skyway daily, and the hustle and bustle of employees and visitors crossing paths is part of the attraction of a downtown campus. "It’s really nice, it kind of makes you feel like you’re a part of the community," she said.

Joe Hunt, a Mayo Clinic visitor Hunt has been visiting Rochester, the Mayo Clinic and the skyway system since the late 1980s. It’s an incredible system, he said. "In inclement weather it’s really an ideal system for getting around Rochester," Hunt said. Hunt was also indulging in some shopping at the Shops at University Square. "You’ve got to entertain us visitors somehow — and then try to empty our pocket books," he said.

Jackie Erlandson, a city-county Government Center employee Erlandson, left, was in the skyway with a co-worker, Jessie Tabor, and the two were out for some exercise. It is a popular pursuit, they said — the so-called skyway/subway ‘power walk.’ Erlandson and Tabor get out maybe twice a week for the walk, they said, and using the subway and skyway they have a regular route about two miles in distance. When the weather is pleasant the two will take their walk outside. But in February, or when temperatures run too hot, the skyway is the only way. "In fact, this (the skyway) is probably the only reason we still do go out," Tabor said.