Would making Nicollet Mall pedestrian only bring more people downtown?

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - When Mary Tyler Moore tossed her hat in the air on Nicollet Mall in her show's opening credits in the 70s, the mall was in its heyday as a regional shopping destination.

Now city leaders believe reinvigorating the mall will be key to revitalizing downtown Minneapolis.

Nicollet Mall proposed plans

"A place of pedestrian activity where you walk down the street and there's a thousand different tastes and smells and sounds and people all packed in on one block," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, during a Monday press conference to announce a new action plan for downtown.

Among other things, the Downtown Action Plan calls for turning Nicollet Mall into a pedestrian-only zone with Metro Transit rerouting buses from that street.

Some city boosters would also like to remove the U.S. Post Office building along the Mississippi River, so the city can connect the mall to the riverfront.

"So the U.S. Post Office, I commit to getting them to see the wisdom of taking down that butt ugly parking ramp that's going to block the river from Nicollet Mall. I'm sure we can find a compromise," said Minneapolis City Council member Michael Rainville at that same press conference.

In the last decade, the city has spent $50 million on adding LED lighting, 250 trees and new paving to the 12 block stretch of downtown.
So would another Nicollet Mall makeover actually entice more people to visit it?

What they're saying

"It's interesting. The pedestrianization idea has been around for quite a few years. Now it's a believe it when I see this type of thing," said Brit's Pub general manager Shane Higgins.

Higgins says making Nicollet Mall pedestrian only would be good for businesses on the mall, as long as there is programming like farmer's markets or food trucks, along with a strong police presence to make visitors feel safe.

"So parades, concerts, any activity where you can get the word out to bring people down," said Higgins.