Minneapolis wants Open Streets to continue, but how?

After outcry this week in support of Open Streets events in Minneapolis, city staffers publicly underlined their appreciation for the festivals — but it is unclear how exactly they would happen next year.

No one has committed to running Open Streets for 2024, with the city's decision not to entertain the organizer's request for funds seeming to sever the partnership that has made Open Streets happen since 2011.

"Open Streets are wonderful events. They are going to continue," Department of Public Works Director Margaret Anderson Kelliher said during a City Council committee meeting Thursday.

The meeting came after Public Works staff told council members that Minneapolis would end its partnership with Open Streets' organizer, the advocacy group Our Streets Minneapolis.

"We did not terminate the contract. They chose not to sign the $0 contract," Kelliher said Thursday.

Our Streets Executive Director José Zayas Cabán disputed that characterization, saying Our Streets had yet to meet with Public Works to discuss 2024 and his request for funding. Zayas Cabán requested $851,000 for Our Streets to run five Open Streets events in 2024.

The events have received some funding through the city in the past, including federal COVID-19 stimulus funds in 2021 and 2022. Our Streets requested, but did not receive, $100,000 to run Open Streets events in 2023.

If Open Streets is a priority for the council, said First Ward Council Member Elliott Payne after the meeting, the support needs to be in the city budget.

"If we really want to build on that success, we should make some financial commitments to it," Payne said in an interview, comparing the events to the $600,000 that Minneapolis will spend on Warehouse District Live events in 2024.

"We can't rely on community partners who have passion to do things for free."