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Holidazzle Critics Say It's Crammed, Lacks Accessibility

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Holidazzle Village is back open Tuesday after a water main break closed the village on Monday. But that's not the only fix they've had to make since opening a few weeks ago.

The Holidazzle Village is drawing crowds of people into downtown Minneapolis, according to Leah Wong from the Minneapolis Downtown Council.

"Weekend attendance is amazing and we're seeing a nice flow throughout the week as well," Wong said.

But it's also drawing its fair share of criticism, which Wong says is welcomed.

"It'll help us to better the event for not only this year but in the future as well," she said.

Comments on their Facebook page called the market claustrophobic and hard to navigate.

Wong says they have already made changes in response to that feedback.

"One of the things that we've done is we have added some additional staffing, specifically to help with some of the line management, answer questions," Wong said.

They have also added more signs to help with market flow, and an area for parking strollers.

WCCO noted several complaints that the market is not in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act in terms of accessibility. But Wong says that is not true.

"Peavey Plaza is handicapped accessible," Wong said. "It has a ramp off of 11th [Street] essentially that gives you accommodations to the first two levels, then a ramp off 12th [Street] that gets you to the rest of the market."

Wong says this is another area where the added staff will be able to help answer questions around accessibility and provide personal escorts when needed.

"There's no trouble," said Judy Offenbacher. "A guide brought us around from the upper level and brought us down ... and said that when we're ready to go back up they'll actually come and push him because the ramp is kind of steep."

Wong says they have received a lot of positive feedback as well.

"If you're out here with us on the weekends it's a really a magical experience," Wong said. "There's a lot of people that are downtown really enjoying the holiday market."

She says businesses in the area are also seeing a bump in sales because of the village.

"It's kind of creating this environment where people are coming down to shop and do commerce with us," Wong said.

The Minneapolis Downtown Council will take all the feedback into consideration when deciding what to do next year.

Click here to leave feedback about Holidazzle Village.

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