Open Portage and Main? A shift in thinking is needed first

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/07/2016 (3397 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Last week, when the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival was in full swing, I did something that I rarely have to do on Winnipeg sidewalks. I had to actually stop and wait until a throng of pedestrians passed me so that I could get by. I felt like I was in another city. 

There’s been a lot of talk as of late about transforming Winnipeg’s downtown into a vibrant, walkable destination that attracts locals and visitors alike. And at the centre of that conversation is the debate about whether or not to open Portage and Main to pedestrians. The issue cropped up again last week with a recent Probe Reasearch poll that showed younger people are supportive of removing the barricades that have been in place for 40 years. Sixty-one per cent of people aged 18 to 34 are in favour of taking down those hideous concrete bunkers, while 68 per cent of those 55 and older are opposed. (Perhaps it should be telling that the generation that can actually remember a time when Winnipeg’s most famous intersection was open to pedestrians is opposed to the idea.)

I am in the 18 to 34 camp, and I am moderately supportive of the idea. I’m all for people driving less. I’m all for people dreaming big about what Portage and Main could be. Surveying the iconic intersection on a gorgeous July Monday, it seemed a shame that so many people would be funnelled into poorly lit subterranean tunnels instead of being able to cross the sunny street — though I’m sure those same office workers are very happy to have those tunnels when it’s minus 30. I completely understand that the underground is hard for tourists to navigate and that better signage is required. I want to see people teeming on the streets of our downtown. 

But many things have to happen before Portage and Main can be transformed into the beating heart of our downtown. And one of those things is making our city, as a whole, friendlier to pedestrians. 

When Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi called Portage and Main the most hostile pedestrian environment he’d ever seen, it made headlines — even though that’s not even close to being the harshest thing an outsider has ever said about our town.

But here’s the thing: Winnipeg is rife with hostile pedestrian environments. Setting aside Portage and Main for a moment, I’ve had to wait at many pedestrian corridors while cars blow right through them. I’ve had cars roll toward me while attempting to cross at four-way stops — which, FYI, just makes me walk more slowly. Many neighbourhoods in this city don’t even have sidewalks — or have sidewalks that mysteriously end. Walking to the Free Press building in the winter means sharing the road with semis.

In 2013, Manitoba Public Insurance released statistics that said 55 per cent of vehicle-pedestrian collisions happen at intersections. I don’t think I would feel comfortable crossing Portage and Main as a pedestrian when crossing at Portage and Fort, which is one block west, already involves risking your life. And I’m far from alone. Two of the baristas at the Starbucks in 201 Portage told me they see near-misses all the time, because drivers are more focused on getting into the correct lane than looking for pedestrians. 

But just as infrastructure needs to change, so, too, do dominant attitudes. This is a car-reliant town in which pedestrians and cyclists are often viewed as problems or inconveniences. Most of the pushback surrounding the opening of Portage and Main to pedestrians has been from drivers who are horrified by the idea that they may have to wait at a longer light while their fellow citizens cross the street. It’s not all drivers’ faults, however; our city has prioritized the needs of drivers for years. 

Making Portage and Main a safe, walkable destination, then, will require more than just the removal of the barricades. It will require a shift in thinking.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti