Minneapolis has spent more than $3.5 million planning the future of George Floyd Square, but debates over the site’s design continue. A recent $380,000 study — the second major round of analysis — again showed that most residents oppose converting the area into a full pedestrian mall, with just 23.5% in support and more than 50% opposed.
Despite earlier community engagement that informed a $3 million plan allowing traffic flow with space for permitted events — known as the “flexible-open plan” — a council committee has pushed for reconsidering a pedestrian mall.
At this week’s Climate & Infrastructure Committee meeting, city staff presented the latest findings, prompting renewed disagreements among council members and community leaders. Councilmember Jason Chavez, who initiated the second study, said he does not support “rushing” the mayor’s flexible-open plan but favors a compromise shaped by community input. The Community Visioning Council (CVC) offered such an alternative, blending aspects of both proposals. CVC leaders say more community involvement is needed; others argue the community has already been heard and that the city should move forward.
The full City Council will vote next week between the flexible-open plan — which could begin construction in 2026 — or the pedestrian mall concept, which would push construction to 2028 and require reinstating a pedestrian mall ordinance.
Watch: 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, George Floyd Square: Pedestrian plaza study legislative directive from the December 4, 2025 Climate & Infrastructure Committee Meeting
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I have never seen a City Council so dedicated to their own performance of civic virtue, and so deeply uninterested in the details of good governance. I don’t think this bunch of thick-witted “socialist” blowhards will be treated kindly in the history books.