Portage and Main not a priority: premier

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/12/2023 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Crossing Portage and Main on foot isn’t on Premier Wab Kinew’s new year’s resolutions list, but other Winnipeggers aren’t giving up on the downtown pedestrian dream.

Kinew said a story by The Canadian Press published Thursday that reopening Portage Avenue and Main Street to pedestrian traffic is “not really one of our government’s priorities right now.” He added that he voted against opening the controversial intersection in a plebiscite on the issue in the 2018 Winnipeg civic election.

Proponents of the would-be project were taken aback.

“I just don’t understand the resistance to it,” Adam Dooley, a spokesperson for the Vote Open campaign before the 2018 vote, said.

Dooley said supporting opening Portage and Main to pedestrian traffic would be an “easy win” for Kinew, who is vocal about improving safety on Winnipeg streets. Dooley said safety would improve with proper foot-traffic infrastructure.

The intersection was closed to pedestrians in 1979. Those trying to cross the intersection must go undergound. Critics say the current system is confusing, not accessibility-friendly and hampers revitalization efforts because pedestrians don’t want to walk downtown. Those in favour of the status quo say foot traffic would cause traffic jams and safety concerns.

Despite the outcome of the 2018 plebiscite — 65 per cent of participants said “no” to reopening the intersection to pedestrians — the debate hasn’t died down. The city asked for public feedback on the intersection and how to spruce it up, potentially improving pedestrian access, as recently as this spring. Ideas included a circular walkway in the sky, four lookout towers and public art.

Richard Milgrom, head of the University of Manitoba’s department of city planning, said Winnipeg’s failure to open the space prevents the city from reaching its full potential.

“Right now, the emphasis seems to be on how quickly can we get through downtown, not what is it about downtown that would make us want to be there,” he said.

“You have to imagine a different future.”

He said he was surprised Kinew mentioned he voted against the matter in the plebiscite and that he made clear the decision to opening the intersection isn’t a priority for his government.

“I’m not sure that it’s his to decide,” Milgrom said.

Dooley said the premier’s comments matter.

“The premier is the most powerful person in our province and has an enormous amount of influence over what takes place in our municipality,” he said.

The city would likely ask the province to chip in on any major infrastructure projects, he said. One such project is on the horizon — the membrane below the intersection that protects the underground concourse needs to be replaced. Dooley said this is the perfect opportunity to bring foot traffic back above ground.

The city did not respond to a request for comment by deadline Thursday.

The premier’s office said Kinew’s comments on the matter stand.

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca