Nicollet Mall and downtown transit changes

Re-envisioning the future of downtown transit

The City is moving transit routes off Nicollet Mall. We developed three options for transit changes in partnership with Metro Transit. The goal of this work is to make transit as good or better than transit on Nicollet Mall today.

We are engaging the community on:

Design and safety solutions
- Sidewalk width
- Bikeway design (if applicable)
- Turn lanes
Transit speed and reliability improvements
Impacts on transit riders
Traffic impacts
Curbside use impacts
Property access and driveways

Learn more about this work

Residents and visitors enjoy Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis.

Why we're doing this work

Background

Nicollet Mall is the busiest transit corridor in the region. Yet, it has some of the slowest, least reliable transit services. Our goal is to improve transit on Nicollet Mall and downtown. The following efforts support this work.

Guiding City work

The City adopted the Transportation Action Plan in December 2020. To develop the plan, we asked the community about transportation needs. Improved reliability or better on-time performance of transit was a top theme. The plan includes an action to improve transit in downtown. It aims to speed up and make transit more reliable.

Read about the action to improve transit in downtown

Read the Transportation Action Plan

Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup

Mayor Jacob Frey created the Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup in December 2022. It was created because there was an increase in empty storefronts in the heart of downtown. Two suggestions from the group were about how people move downtown:

Explore the future of Nicollet Mall as a pedestrian zone.
Look at other options for transit service in downtown.

Read Mayor Jacob Frey's Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup report

Council Legislative Directive

City and Metro Transit staff presented to the City Council on this subject. This work was in response to a City Council legislative directive.

Read the Nicollet Mall Legislative Directive (March 2025)

Read the Nicollet Mall Legislative Directive (December 2023)

Community input

Our team has led many engagement efforts to get feedback for these changes. You can read more about these events on our community engagement page.

Learn more

The initiative is currently in the community input phase.

Community input

Design

In progress

Complete

Exploring changes

Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) is exploring changes to Nicollet Mall, apart from this work. CPED and Public Works are teaming up to improve downtown and Nicollet Mall.

Contact CPED