After reading the article June 1 about the skywalks in Cincinnati, it always amazes me that the city is always trying something new.

It's so simple to get people downtown. Just give them free parking. I can go any place else to shop and don't spend one cent to park. I can go to any movie, same thing, not one cent on parking.

I wrote to council years ago and suggested this, but nothing happened. Instead they spend a fortune on all their ideas that don't do a thing, and no one wants to give up the revenue from parking.

Maybe the cost of free parking to the city would be less than building skywalks and riverfronts. God knows nothing else has worked. The cost of trying this for the summer would be less than tearing down skywalks that some people are still using.

Nancy Weimer, Sayler Park

---

Tearing down skywalk won't help tourism

Cincinnati leaders do it again. They managed to lose all kinds of attractions to downtown by inaction (e.g. Nordstrom, the Hofbraeuhaus) and countless conventions through misguided action resulting in the boycott, mandated police oversight, etc.

Now through their action, they propose to eliminate one of the few positive attractions left that puts Cincinnati a step above the rest, to wit: our skywalk system ("Cincinnati skywalk falls into disfavor," June 1).

When are these lame brains going to understand what Northern Kentucky, Indianapolis and yes, even Louisville, have seen for years: in order to attract people to any place you have to give them unique attractions that go beyond shopping center offerings?

A bunch of dollar-sucking concrete monoliths obliterating our beautiful riverfront certainly doesn't hack it.

Wolf Eschenlohr, Finneytown

---

City let skywalk go to waste

I worked in downtown Cincinnati for more than 12 years, and I remember the Skywalk system very fondly. I used to love using the Skywalk system to walk from the west side of downtown to the east, all the while staying dry. Over the years the Skywalk system has been cut up, dismantled and blocked off. What made the Skywalk great was being able to walk from one end of downtown to the other, and to shop. No one is using the Skywalk anymore because it's a series of non-connected walkways. The Skywalk was a great idea the city mostly demolished and let go to waste. I would love for the Skywalk to be brought back, but it's been beaten down to a point that it would be like building it from scratch all over again.

James Taylor, Norwood