Minneapolis seeks public input on potential pedestrian mall at George Floyd Square

Minneapolis city staff presented findings to community members Tuesday evening about the possibility of creating a pedestrian mall at George Floyd Square. 

The fate of the intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue where George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police in 2020 has been debated for years. 

The city’s pedestrian mall concept released Tuesday would restrict through traffic on Chicago Avenue and create a cul-de-sac and public plaza near the People’s Way, a former Speedway gas station across from the site where Floyd died. 

Dozens of community members met with city staff in a building near the square, and circulated among poster boards showing the city’s concepts. Some were concerned about how a pedestrian mall would affect business owners. Others said they were pleased to see the city considering a pedestrian mall option that could ensure more safety for people on foot. 

Jennie Leenay, a community member who manages the People’s Closet, a mutual aid closet in the square, said it’s clear that people are passionate about the intersection’s future, and are still eager to give feedback five years later. 

“This place means a lot to a lot of people,” Leenay said. “You can just see that so many people do care.”

Some of the city’s findings include: 

• The cul-de-sac option would allow some delivery trucks to access businesses and then turn around. Larger trucks would still need to travel through the pedestrian mall.
• The city would need to coordinate snow removal in the cul-de-sac and pedestrian mall.
• Traffic and street parking would need to be rerouted from Chicago Avenue onto narrower residential streets nearby.
• The D Line and Route 5 buses could return to the intersection by making a detour around the pedestrian mall. 

Minneapolis Public Works Director Tim Sexton said the city is still determining if it is feasible to create a pedestrian mall. 

“We’ve probably uncovered more challenges than new things to make this easier,” he said. 

The city said closing off more of the intersection to vehicles would make it too difficult to maintain access to alleyways, and would restrict delivery access to businesses. 

P.J. Hill said at Tuesday’s meeting that he prefers a plan that opens the area to vehicle traffic to support local businesses. Hill owns a building in the square that houses a coffee shop and art gallery.

Hill said that when the intersection was closed off for about a year after Floyd’s murder, the neighborhood was perceived as being unsafe, which deterred people from visiting local businesses.

“That perception — how do you take that away?” he said. 

But other community members, like Leenay said, they preferred when the area was only accessible to pedestrians.

“No one was allowed to park there, but yet, people still showed up and were out there and thriving,” Leenay said. 

Marcia Howard, a community member and organizer, said people come from across the country to visit the square. She said a pedestrian mall would provide more safety for people who come to reflect and learn.

“They come here every single day, and they need to be safe,” said Howard, who meets with other volunteers at the square daily to advocate for justice.  

The city is scheduled to present its findings to City Council members in December. If council members want to move forward with a pedestrian mall concept, they would need to pass an ordinance first to close off the street. 

Sexton said that the exact timeline of what will happen next is unclear. All City Council seats and the mayor’s post are up for election this November, and several candidates are challenging Mayor Jacob Frey, who’s running for reelection. Winners would not take office until January 2026.

Late last year, city staff presented their recommendation for the intersection to the City Council, which was called a “flexible open” plan. The plan would have allowed the streets to remain open to vehicle traffic, with the option of closing the streets to pedestrians during special events, such as the anniversary of Floyd’s murder.

Frey has said that he wants to move forward with a plan now, and bring infrastructure updates to the intersection. But some community members want the city to take more time to figure out what the intersection should look like. 

The feedback the city gathered Tuesday will help city staff evaluate if a pedestrian mall is feasible. The City Council will vote on the square’s layout at a future meeting that has yet to be scheduled.

The debate over George Floyd Square

A sticking point that has divided community members, business owners and city officials is whether the intersection should remain open to vehicle traffic. The intersection was closed off after Floyd’s death, and was re-opened in 2021. 

A section of the road where Floyd died after former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes remains blocked off as a memorial, and is decorated with art, flowers and offerings.

Some community members have said keeping the intersection open could allow for local businesses in the corridor to flourish, but others have stressed that the intersection is a sacred space, and should only be open to pedestrians so people can reflect. 

The debate came to a head earlier this year. The Minneapolis City Council voted in February to table the city and Frey’s recommended plan to keep the streets open. The council voted to have city staff study the feasibility of a pedestrian mall, which Frey vetoed. The council then voted to override that veto, prompting the current study that was revealed Tuesday. 

Council Member Jason Chavez, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said he was glad that the city was gathering feedback, and appreciated seeing visualizations of what the intersection could look like. 

“Ultimately, I think it’s a great start, “ said Chavez, who supports a pedestrian mall.