Minneapolis announces next steps for George Floyd Square. Some residents remain skeptical
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The city of Minneapolis plans to start construction in George Floyd Square as soon as next summer. At a community meeting Tuesday night, staff published their suggested street design for the intersection where Minneapolis police killed George Floyd in 2020.
City staff designed the proposal after yearslong engagement projects with neighbors, businesses and residents across the city.
Some residents and business owners say they’re glad the city is putting resources towards improving the intersection’s infrastructure. But others say they don’t want the city tearing up the streets — at least before they feel the city has addressed their demands for justice.
Jay Webb, who lives nearby and maintains the garden at George Floyd Square, said the city is interfering with the continuing work neighbors put into the memorials, art and protest.
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“They’re missing the whole point of this,” Webb said as he looked over the plans. “What upsets me is that the city wants to re-envision something when they don’t even realize the original vision.”
The proposed plan
City staff are proposing rebuilding the blocks that touch 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. Roads would be open to all traffic, including buses. The streets would also include bike lanes and widened sidewalks with boulevards for green space and memorials.
The city has so far allocated a little over $5.5 million to the project; staff said they’ll know the exact cost once they finalize the construction plans.
Safety features
The proposal includes a raised intersection, with the goal of slowing traffic and making the square safer for pedestrians.
The city also plans to install lights, ADA-accessible ramps and curb extensions to aid pedestrians.
Transit and traffic
The plan would allow for the return of Metro D Line and Route 5 bus service along Chicago Avenue, with new stops located south of 38th Street. The Route 23 bus will maintain a stop along 38th Street.
The city is also proposing new bike lanes along both streets. Street parking will be available in several areas in the intersection
Community use
City staff say the raised intersection will allow the square to be easily closed to traffic for use of events.
Art and memorials
The plan will preserve the medians in the road at the four entrances to the square and the traffic circle in the center, where iconic fist sculptures are currently located.
City staff say they will work with artists to preserve the art and determine whether artists will want it to stay in the square after construction.
The sidewalk in front of Cup Foods — the place where George Floyd was murdered, and where a large community-planned mural currently stands — will be widened for use as a memorial.
The design process
City staff have been conducting outreach to get input on the plans for several years. Even before George Floyd was killed in 2020, the city was looking at ways to invest in the area through the 38th Street Thrive plan.
Alexander Kado is running the city project. He said it was time to reconstruct the streets in the square, which are outdated and have lead pipes underneath.
Kado said the priority was to ensure access for transportation and visitors, while still honoring the way the community uses the space.
“It’s a really tricky balance … we’ll never get full consensus,” Kado said. “We hear that a lot of people want to be able to get to and from the place in a way that makes sense, that’s functional.”
Kado said ideas like adding green spaces, widening sidewalks and making the intersection easy to close for community events arose from those engagement sessions.
But other ideas proposed by community members were nixed — like a pedestrian-only zone in part or all of the intersection.
Minneapolis transportation planning manager Nathan Koster said the city started out with that as a goal, but that it wasn’t feasible.
“There is a fair amount of challenges just trying to make that happen,” Koster said.
The city is required to allow access to driveways for residents and businesses, and clear access for emergency vehicles, which Koster said wouldn’t be possible with pedestrian-only areas.
Community reactions
Many community members were skeptical of the plans.
Nickey Robare lives nearby and participated in several of the city’s feedback sessions.
“It feels like really misplaced priorities,” Robare said. “Tearing up a street that has been a global memorial to victims of police violence is not going to bring us healing.”
Robare said they would rather see the money put towards services like housing and health — a sentiment many activists repeated.
Local activists put together their own alternate plan and distributed copies at Tuesday’s gathering. It asks the city to stop its street plan and cede planning duties to the community. Activists also ask the city to invest in construction elsewhere on the 38th Street corridor, as well as housing and health resources.
“Take those millions and build some more shelters,” Webb said. “Build some shelters, feed some people, put your money where your mouth is.”
Anthony Taylor is the community development lead for the Cultural Wellness Center and collaborated on the plan. He said he understands the criticism, but he thinks the square’s redesign will help the community keep using the space, with easier access.
“I am very, very in tune to the idea is that this is an active memorial, this is an active protest that’s going on,” Taylor said. “[The design] has to facilitate that ongoing activity. It has to also facilitate the fact that the businesses want their customers to be able to come close to their doors without having to figure out parking.”
Next steps
City staff will deliver its recommendations to the City Council on Nov. 12. The council’s Climate and Infrastructure Committee is scheduled to hold its first vote on the plan on Nov. 21. The street construction plans will need a go-ahead from the council before the city can start work.
Community members are holding their own town hall to discuss the plans on Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. at Calvary Lutheran Church.
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