Yet another “plan” to revive downtown Minneapolis

The use of the word “latest” in this Minnesota Star Tribune headline gives the game away:

Mayor Frey’s latest plan has ‘action steps’ to revitalize downtown Minneapolis

“action steps”

The City has published an 18-page “Action Plan 2024” on its website. The date is needed to differentiate from the 2015, $50 million upgrade of Nicollet Mall which failed to do the trick. Here’s the 2017 Star Tribune headline:

Two-plus years in the making: Nicollet Mall back in business

Nicollet Mall reopened at noon Thursday, marking the end of a construction headache that’s cost millions of dollars and closed the downtown Minneapolis corridor for more than two years.

Fast forward seven years and the Star Tribune now reports:

Mayor Jacob Frey on Monday unveiled a list of strategies aimed at revitalizing downtown, but the city’s 18-page plan indicates that determining the future of hallmark corridors and neighborhoods like Nicollet Mall and the Warehouse District will likely take several years and millions of dollars.

But they tell us, “he is serious” this time. As for the plan? More bike lanes (p. 4, paragraph 1), of course. The legalization of public drinking (p. 8). The word “crime” appears nowhere in the 18 pages. The euphemism “public safety” appears on four occasions.

The word “parking” appears once.

On Twitter (X) last night, I weighed in with my own modest proposal:

My plan begins with public safety and lowers the cost to the visitor.

It’s an idea so crazy, it just might work.