"This is absurd. The time for delay is over."
That's Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey who says he's frustrated with the Minneapolis City Council's continued delay on a plan for George Floyd Square.
Frey called the long-running stalemate "insulting" after years of talks when discussing it with WCCO's Chad Hartman this week.
The council met this week but failed to even vote on two options: a flexible street design or a pedestrian mall.
Frey argues the pedestrian mall is legally problematic.
"To do that, they can't have more than 50% of the business property owners opposing the plan to shut down the street," explains Frey. "And right now, 100% of the businesses and properties we're aware of oppose that plan."
Frey is advocating for a "flexible option" that would reopen George Floyd Square to traffic most of the time but allow for closures during community events.
However, the mayor says with the council postponing a decision until December 11, constituents could be waiting until next year for a more permanent decision.
Frey says he's been trying to strike a deal with the council on the issue for years - to no avail.
"Unless something changes substantially, which you know, I mean that could happen, the route that makes the most sense is an open flexible option where you can close the street down and have events and parties and festivals and healing sessions and all the rest," he says. "And you can have access to the small local businesses."
According to Minnesota state law, a pedestrian mall would require more than 50% of adjacent property owners to approve the plan.
The mayor also notes that all of these delays have added hundreds of thousands in costs to whatever plan the city comes up with, whenever that plan is implemented. Which Frey says likely isn't until 2027 at the earliest, seven years after Floyd was killed.
Several council members admitted it was taking a long time to reach a consensus, and leaned on a frequent reason for delays, saying the community "needed time to heal."
One thing that could speed up a decision is a slight shift in council members following the 2025 election. A couple of new councilmembers align closer to Frey and his views, including as Ward 7 councilmember-elect Elizabeth Shaffer. Shaffer, a former Minneapolis park board commissioner, was backed by Frey, and defeated incumbent Katie Cashman, one of the more progressive members of the council.
That shift presumably removes what was a veto-proof majority of democratic socialists on the council.