Nicollet Mall Without Buses? City Considers Bold Plan

The Minneapolis Downtown Council has a $50 million plan for Nicollet Mall and everything is on the table.

The head of the Council, Mark Stenglein, tells KSTP that "there is a possibility we will look at a pedestrian mall with no curbs and a lot of green." That means the idea of eliminating buses on the mall is a real possibility.

The Council asked for $25 million in bond money at the Capitol this year, but was turned down.

Stenglein says they will keep fighting for the money because the Nicollet Mall needs repairs and improvements and it is not just a citywide plan, but a regional plan.

Stenglein also says the goal is to double the population living downtown from 35,000 to 70,000 people over the next two decades. He says with four light rail lines converging on downtown eventually, there is plenty of infrastructure and transportation to handle that kind of growth, which makes it a realistic goal.

Nicollet Mall was established in 1965 and Stenglein says it has not really been revamped since then. Stenglein says the Council wants 25-million from the state in bonding money and the other half will, hopefully, he says, come from other government entities and the private sector.

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