The City of Minneapolis is looking at removing buses from Nicollet Mall.

Project leaders tell 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS there are three options on the table to shift routes to nearby streets, and they believe this is a way to improve transit and the overall experience on Nicollet Mall.

“We are looking at moving transit off of Nicollet Mall,” said Kathleen Mayell, City of Minneapolis transportation planner manager with Public Works.

Mayell says Nicollet Mall is the busiest transit corridor in the region with more than 11,000 people every day getting on and off the bus there. She believes the experience isn’t cutting it though.

“Right now, transit service on Nicollet Mall is pretty slow. It averages 5 miles per hour,” Mayell said.

That’s why the city is offering up three options for buses.

Options 1 and 2 move transit service in some capacity to Marquette and Second avenues, while Option 3 shifts to Third Avenue.

“We’re looking to provide transit service that’s just as good or better than it currently exists on Nicollet,” Mayell said.

The Local, an Irish pub that sits right along Nicollet Mall, is one business that thinks it could benefit from the change.

“I think it would make a really great experience for people sitting on the patio. They don’t have to hear or smell bus exhaust,” said Alanna DeGroot, front house manager at The Local.

DeGroot is thrilled to hear part of the city’s plan here includes listening to people on ways to improve the overall experience for pedestrians on Nicollet Mall.

“I think it would make it a little safer people would probably be more likely to be wanting to be walking around,” DeGroot said.

“I think it’s great, I think it’s a great place to sit and soak in the sun,” said Stephen Eley, who enjoys spending time on Nicollet Mall. “I think it would be a good idea because here you have lots of restaurants, a lot of business going on, you have a lot of pedestrians going back and forth.”

Eley, who lives in Minneapolis, likes the idea of getting rid of buses along this stretch, but stresses they can’t go too far.

“You need the buses for people that don’t have their own transportation,” Eley said.

Click here for a closer look at the options on the table and to take the city’s survey.

Mayell says this potential move is happening no earlier than 2026 and all scooters, bicycles, and emergency vehicles would still be allowed to use Nicollet.