The Minneapolis City Council's latest vote on George Floyd Square is set to unlock street reconstruction after a five year wait. The plan will allow for full vehicle traffic and transit to return to the area.
The approval of the "open concept" for George Floyd Square is a pivotal moment that clears the path for the long-delayed reconstruction of aging streets and essential infrastructure, and makes way for flexible street closures and gatherings.
"The property owners there that are saying we can't support that, which is a requirement of the state legislation that allows us to create pedestrian malls," says Ward 8 Council Member Andrea Jenkins. And so this seems like the most prudent way to move forward."
This put an end to the plan that included a pedestrian mall that was was opposed by business owners in the area, and a plan Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said wouldn't even be legal.
"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."
Not every council member was happy about the final decision.
"This council has been put in a position where there's no will or ability for our mayor and this administration to move on any other plan," says Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury. "That's just the fact of the matter. There's no will to do pedestrian mall from them, and that's really disappointing."
The vote was accompanied by an approved resolution requesting city support for memorial maintenance and community-led street closures.
This decision sets the stage for the next phase finalizing the design details, and starting construction as early as next year.
Late last year, the owners of Cup Foods and others near 38th and Chicago, the intersection where Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, filed a $30 million lawsuit claiming the city failed to address crime in the neighborhood which in turn ruined their business.
That suit, despite being thrown out by a judge, highlighted the struggle for the area's businesses while the City Council debated plans for the intersection.
Several council members argued the move to a pedestrian mall was in line with community members’ demand for a pedestrian model, despite surveys that didn't support that. It was a point of contention between the council and Mayor Frey who at one point called their decisions "shady" and "gerrymandering."