‘Doomsday predictions’ proven ‘wrong’

Four months after the intersection of Portage and Main opened to pedestrian crossings, traffic data shows there has been almost no impact to commuting motorists.

It’s news that comes as little surprise to proponents of taking down the barricades that once held foot traffic at bay — and one that some hope will end a contentious debate that has raged in the Manitoba capital for decades.

“Before the intersection was open to pedestrians, everybody heard the doomsday predictions about gridlock and accidents that would happen, and the data proves that those predictions were wrong,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said Friday.

“Ultimately, I don’t have good answer as to why this was debated for so long.”

The City of Winnipeg undertook a study to analyze travel-times for motorists crossing Portage Avenue and Main Street. It involved data collected from GPS-enabled vehicles travelling on four key routes leading into and from the intersection during peak traffic hours in November.

That data was then compared to data collected from November of last year, before pedestrian traffic was introduced.

Morning travel on two of the routes was unchanged year over year, while travel time for the others increased by less than a minute. In the afternoon, travel time on three of the routes increased by less than two minutes, and the remaining route saw a one-minute decrease.

“Generally speaking, there has been minimal impact to travel times,” city spokesperson Julie Dooley said in an email.

“These changes are all considered relatively negligible when looking at impacts to daily commutes.”

“I’m not surprised. It’s a modern intersection and we are employing modern techniques to manage traffic flow.”

Meanwhile, the data found the intersection has been crossed by tens of thousands of pedestrians, with foot traffic averaging 3,570 people per day.

Dooley noted the analysis did not account for nearby construction, or other issues that could cause congestion.

“I’m not surprised. It’s a modern intersection and we are employing modern techniques to manage traffic flow,” said University of Winnipeg urban geography professor Jino Distasio.

“My hope is that, in the end, the average Winnipegger just sees the opening of Portage and Main as nothing more than a routine cleanup of an intersection that could have always allowed pedestrians to cross.”

Despite its reputation as Winnipeg’s most iconic intersection, Distasio said Portage and Main is fundamentally no different from crossings in other major urban centres.

“On any given day now, if you asked a tourist, ‘Is there anything distinctive about this intersection?’ Most would look at you and say, ‘What?’” he said.

“I think today, we’ve just moved on. The issue is closed and the intersection is open.”

Arguments over whether at-grade crossings should be permitted at Portage and Main have ebbed and flowed since it closed to foot traffic in 1979 and pedestrians were redirected to an underground concourse.

Reopening the intersection was a key plank in former mayor Brian Bowman’s 2014 election campaign, but he encountered resistance from some on city council. The debate reached a fever pitch with the results of a 2018 plebiscite, in which the majority of respondents voted against reopening.

Opponents cited concerns that pedestrian crossings may cause traffic congestion and compromise safety.

It is unclear whether the reopening has resulted in an increase in collisions; Manitoba Public Insurance could not immediately provide such data on Friday.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson Const. Claude Chancy said pedestrian crossings have not caused issues for officers.

“It’s very nice that it’s working out the way it is; it’s frustrating that it took us this long to get here.”

Coun. Janice Lukes, who at first opposed opening the intersection to pedestrians, later reversed course and was among the first people to cross during a grand-opening ceremony in June.

She travels the route by car almost daily, and has noticed no difference to her commute in the months since, she said.

“At the time, I didn’t support it. But, you know what, society changes, things change, life changes, people change,” she said.

“I think back then, there was a lot of political drama about it. This current mayor said, ‘Look, it’s an intersection. We want to get it done, let’s do it.’ And we did, and I’m fine with it.”

Adam Dooley was a key member of the citizen-led Vote Open campaign during the plebiscite. He said the decision became unnecessarily politically charged, and should have instead focused on improving accessibility downtown.

“It was a feud between a couple of city councillors and the mayor of the day, and I hope that we can all learn that that kind of behaviour just poisons politics and leads to bad decision-making,” he said.

“It’s very nice that it’s working out the way it is; it’s frustrating that it took us this long to get here.”

Coun. Jeff Browaty, who also once opposed opening the intersection, agreed that doing so has not had a dramatic effect on travel times.

He said the change coincided with other traffic improvements surrounding the intersection, including the addition of a new turning lane and an overhaul of the Winnipeg Transit network.

“I think these are all real factors,” he said.

“I think this does end the debate, and we will have to monitor things. I do believe there is still a segment of the population that is still anti-car… the vast majority of trips Winnipeggers take are by vehicle, and I think we do need to continue to recognize that fact.”

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

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