The arrival of the Green Line in downtown Minneapolis has brought a surge in foot traffic on the street and in skyways.

Preliminary findings of a study by Pedestrian Studies consultant Peter Bruce found that pedestrian counts from 7 to 9 a.m. weekdays on Nicollet Mall near the 5th Street LRT station were up 20 to 25 percent in the weeks following the opening of the new light-rail line connecting downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Before the Green Line began running June 14, pedestrian traffic at 5th and Nicollet averaged 2,600 trips. Two weeks later, 7-9 a.m. traffic volume had risen to 3,200 pedestrian trips.

The opening of the Green Line route "proved to be a factor in the volume increase," Bruce concluded.

A spring 2014 study by Pedestrian Studies, a national firm that analyzes retail and leisure foot traffic patterns, showed there are more people in the skyways, too.

City Center is among the busiest hubs for skyway pedestrian movement in downtown, and the most recent count found that the City Center-Macy's skyway bridge had a daily volume of 18,106 pedestrians. That compares with 14,300 measured in 2008 before the impact from the recession on retail traffic hit.

Tim Harlow