The Minneapolis city council took a step back in the city’s progress to redevelopment of George Floyd Square. 

The plan presented by city staff — which was finalized just about a month ago — had been crafted after years of community engagement. While a big part of the city’s plan puts a focus on making the area pedestrian-friendly, some council members want it even friendlier for walkers. 

“I believe we have one shot to make this right,” Councilmember Jason Chavez said as he presented a resolution to kick back development discussion to committee. “I want us to be able to talk about making George Floyd Square a pedestrian mall,” he later added. 

The plan rejected by the council at Thursday’s meeting would be more versatile. It would allow traffic to move through the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, now known as George Floyd Square. 

As discussion was underway at the council meeting about the possible pedestrian mall, city planners already expressed concerns. 

“There will be additional engagement, both with residents, community, business owners,” Tim Sexton, Minneapolis’ Public Works director, told councilmembers. 

“There’s a process that we haven’t done before that we would have to undertake. “We would need to coordinate more closely with the fire department and other emergency services on the code,” Sexton said, adding, “There’s a lot of uncertainty with that pedestrian mall option.”

Part of that uncertainty would be when construction would begin. Sexton told the council that the city’s plan already had a tight window of time to try to start construction in 2025.

Not all council members supported the pause—councilmember Andrea Jenkins, whose ward George Floyd Square sits in, pointed out the extensive work that has been done to reach this point. 

“It completely disregards thousands of hours of community engagement,” Jenkins said. 

RELATED: Blueprint for the future: George Floyd Square redevelopment taking steps forward

That engagement, according to Mayor Jacob Frey, reached in the thousands of hours. 

“The council asked for engagement. The staff did extensive engagement. The results were fairly clear [that] people wanted a versatile street,” Frey said. 

The mayor said he doesn’t oppose a pedestrian mall but doesn’t support the council’s continuous indecision, as he fears this may set back any construction until 2028. 

“What I don’t support is kicking the can down the road. Even more so when people in the community need change, they need to see progress,” Mayor Frey said. 

The next time set for the city council to address the possible pedestiran mall will be at a January 9 committee meeting.