Dillydallying is no longer taken lightly in some downtown St. Paul skyways.

New signs near the Green Line's Central Station ask people to refrain from loitering in the skyways and near the stairs.

Metro Transit placed the signs in the area Wednesday following inquiries and complaints about people hanging out in skyways and stairwells near the station, said Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla.

"They are just a reminder to folks of the city ordinance that's in place," Padilla said.

The ordinance cited at the bottom of the sign prohibits such things as sitting and lounging in stairwells, fighting and obscene language.

The signs were put up just over a year after a man was arrested while sitting in a St. Paul skyway — an incident caught on video that garnered national attention.

Padilla said the signs have no connection to the incident, adding that Metro Transit wouldn't have been working on implementing them for that long.

St. Paul police increased their presence in the downtown area earlier this year following several other skyway incidents and arrests.

There are no other signs along the Green Line, Padilla said, as Central Station is the closest to skyways.

Staff writer Kevin Duchschere contributed to this report. Anne Millerbernd is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.

Anne Millerbernd • 651-308-7126