An influential grassroots group has released a proposal it hopes will resolve a years-long debate over the future of George Floyd Square — and it wouldn’t involve a pedestrian mall.
The big picture: The Minneapolis City Council has been studying pedestrianizing the square for the past year, delaying city officials’ plans that would’ve installed permanent infrastructure around Floyd’s memorial.
- The fight has become a vessel for at least five years of pent-up frustration among activists, neighbors and business owners living at the epicenter of a global racial reckoning.
The latest: The grassroots group — the Community Visioning Council (CVC) — unveiled a design Tuesday night that involves keeping the streets around Floyd’s memorial at least partially open.
- The CVC’s proposal overlaps with the city’s design, but there are some notable differences: Instead of two lanes of traffic in front of Floyd’s memorial as in the city’s design, the CVC calls for only a single, one-way lane to remain open.
- Some buses would likely still have to bypass the 38th and Chicago intersection.
What we’re watching: Whether the CVC’s plan — and its lack of support for a pedestrian mall — ends the council’s impasse over the city’s so-called “flexible” design for George Floyd Square, which Mayor Jacob Frey supports.
- A procedural vote last month to revive the city’s “flexible” plan passed the council by a vote of 8-5, which may indicate support for the pedestrian mall was softening anyway.
The intrigue: The CVC’s plan has no official standing in the city’s planning process and would need extensive vetting to move forward.
- But at least six City Council members were present at the plan’s unveiling, a sign that the group has the council’s ear.
Friction point: If the council doesn’t act at its Dec. 11 meeting — the last of its current term — the legislative process will start over…