Portage & Main property owners like idea of opening intersection to pedestrians

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This article was published 02/03/2017 (3218 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A spokeswoman for one of the building owners at the corner of Portage and Main said a revitalized intersection can co-exist with a redeveloped underground concourse.

Rosanne Hill, managing director of Harvard Developments Inc., which owns and manages the 33-storey office tower originally known as TD Centre, said her firm is committed to supporting efforts to removing the barriers, adding she believes opening the iconic intersection to pedestrian will provide an opportunity to redevelop the street-level space of the building without damaging the underground businesses.

“We have a longer-term vision to work with the city and animate the corner,” Hill told the Free Press, explaining that currently, much of the street-level space at 201 Portage is unleaseable. “There is absolutely an opportunity to redevelop the main floor lobby of the building and embrace an opening to Portage and Main, with leaseable area — cafés and interconnectivity to that corner — which is what we’d like to do.”

Reopening the intersection to pedestrians was one of Mayor Brian Bowman’s campaign commitments in 2014.

Opponents said removing the barriers is inviting disaster, that it will not only delay traffic but poses a serious risk to pedestrians brave enough to cross. Many people mistakenly believe traffic concerns were what prompted the placement of the barriers. In fact, the barriers went up in 1979 as part of a deal with the original building owners and developer who constructed the underground complex.

Supporters argue the barriers need to be removed to allow pedestrian connection to the disparate areas of the heart of the city — the downtown, The Forks and the east and west Exchange Districts — which will encourage street-level development in the surrounding area as more pedestrians move through the area.

While it’s a divisive issue in Winnipeg, Bowman revived that pledge a year ago when he said he hoped to have barriers taken down by July 2017 to coincide with events surrounding the Canada Summer Games.

The July 2017 deadline suffered a serious setback when civic officials realized portions of the concrete barriers are integral to the underground structure and that complicates, and increases, the cost of their removal.

The city has commissioned a traffic impact study, which has been completed but is being reviewed by civic officials. Bowman said in addition to seeing the building corner owners redevelop the street-level areas of the intersection, city hall will be expected to invest funds to refurbish the portion of the underground — the circular walkway known as the Circus.

Bowman said nothing will happen at the intersection until the administration presents a plan that details the impact on traffic flow and outlines the changes and costs to the underground.

Hill wrote, on behalf of her firm, one of the four letters from the building owners who have committed to Bowman their support to remove the barriers. Hill said she envisions redevelopment can occur at street level without jeopardizing the investment building owners have put into the underground development.

“It doesn’t have to be an either-or-situation,” Hill said. “If pedestrians are using the crosswalks above ground, it doesn’t necessarily preclude high volumes of pedestrians underground to continue. People will, on a nice day, cross the street above ground and when it’s a little colder or they’re interested in stopping in a store on their way or getting a coffee, they’ll go underground.”

Harvard Developments is committed to developing both areas, Hill said, adding the firm will be issuing tenders soon for a multimillion-dollar upgrade to the portion of the underground that goes with the 201 Portage tower.

As for when that will happen, Hill, like Bowman, said the process has its own timetable.

“It’s a process and all the right steps need to be taken, including their assessment of the traffic study and lots of public engagement,” Hill said. “All the stakeholders would like to see it happen in a holistic way. It’s not just about taking down the barriers, it involves a phased plan that would require some investment by all the stakeholders, including the city.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca