Fall 2019 date for reopening Portage and Main not set in concrete: city officials
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/06/2018 (2726 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Senior elected and administrative officials at Winnipeg city hall are backing away from a fall of 2019 date to reopen Portage Avenue and Main Street to pedestrians.
Officials repeatedly said Wednesday the time frame in the request for proposal released Tuesday is only a “target” and a decision to reopen the iconic intersection to foot traffic still must be taken by city council.
Even Mayor Brian Bowman, who made the issue a campaign promise four years ago and has been an enthusiastic supporter ever since, toned down his rhetoric.
Council set wheels in motion for historic intersection last fall
City hall observers might be surprised to hear some members of council expressing concern over details in a request for proposals seeking a consultant to plan the reopening of Portage and Main to pedestrians.
City hall observers might be surprised to hear some members of council expressing concern over details in a request for proposals seeking a consultant to plan the reopening of Portage and Main to pedestrians.
While the fall 2019 date is new, opening the intersection really was never in question following the intense debate and series of 10 votes on a report — all overwhelmingly in favour of the project — on the floor of council last October.
The motion approved by council authorized the reopening of the intersection to pedestrians and instructs the CAO to negotiate with the property owners the terms of an agreement that would amend or terminate the previous 40-year-old agreement that led to the construction of the underground concourse and blocked pedestrian access at street level.
While Item 9 of the motion requires the administration to bring a plan back to council before reopening the intersection, councillors were repeatedly told that if they approved the proposal, they would be setting in motion a plan that would lead to the removal of the concrete barriers.
“If the recommendations are approved, a new capital project will be created in the 2018 budget which will provide a commitment to the creation of a vision and the renewal and reopening of the intersection at Portage and Main,” states the first paragraph, on page 12, in the section of the administrative report titled Implications of the Recommendations.
The online link to the debate from the council minutes is available here:
There are several references throughout the administrative report and minutes of the meeting that council is setting in motion the reopening of the intersection:
• From Page 1, Recommendation 1 of the motion: “That the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street be identified as a priority, through a phased-approach, for renewed purpose and investment that allows for full use by everyone, pedestrian (both at and below grade) and vehicle, to increase walkability, safety and connectivity throughout the entire downtown.” (passed in a 10-5 vote).
• From Page 2, Recommendation 6 of the motion: “That the City enter into, execute and deliver agreements with the property owners at the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street to reintroduce at grade pedestrian activity at the intersection…” (passed in a 10-5 vote).
• From Page 2, Recommendation 7 of the motion: “That authority be delegated to the Chief Administrative Officer to negotiate and approve the terms and conditions of the agreements referred to in Recommendations 5 and 6…” (passed in a 10-5 vote).
• From Page 10: “This report recommends that the City commit to collaboration and investment with stakeholders, through a multi-phased approach, to reintroduce pedestrian activity, recognizing that the barriers at the northeast corner will likely need to be removed in conjunction with the proposed development by Richardson’s and the adjacent work by the City.”
• From Page 10: “The following actions are recommended…Issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Architectural and Engineering services that will ensure that the project is led by a vision that can collaborate with the private stakeholders on their interests and investments and considers the integration of all aspects of re-introducing pedestrians at the intersection.”
• From Page 12, under the section titled Implications of the Recommendations: “If the recommendations are approved, a new capital project will be created in the 2018 budget which will provide a commitment to the creation of a vision and the renewal and reopening of the intersection at Portage and Main.
• From Page 13: “As barriers are removed at this intersection the City of Winnipeg is looking to ensure that there is a plan that aligns both public and private interests.”
• From page 16: “The preliminary design study will also quantify the implementation of opening only the east crosswalk, as well as reducing the eastbound through movement from two lanes to one lane to accommodate changes to the southeast (Bank of Montreal) corner, as Phase 1 of a staged approach to allowing pedestrians at the intersection.
aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
“I’d like it to be open, but I want to make sure we’re doing it in a thoughtful way that considers all the items,” Bowman said during an exchange with reporters. “Despite the fact that, obviously, I would like it opened sooner than later, there is a process and this is part of the council-directed process.
“I think it’s just important to keep in mind that council has not provided that direction to open it to pedestrians yet. This RFP doesn’t change that.”
The RFP inviting bids for consulting services for the design and Phase 1 construction associated with the intersection reopening was the talk of the city Wednesday. While council had approved the project at its October 2017 meeting, no dates were given in an administrative report.
The RFP states city hall expects the first barriers to be taken down to allow pedestrians to cross Portage Avenue East, between the Richardson Plaza and the Bank of Montreal, and the city is “targeting completion of construction,” of that portion by the fall of 2019.
The document, or at least its timing, seemed to catch elected officials by surprise. Bowman and other members of his executive policy committee said they weren’t given advance notice the RFP was being posted nor had they viewed the document ahead of time.
“I need to have much more information before I agree to open up Portage and Main, and that’s the information we’re supposed to be getting back from the RFP,” said Coun. John Orlikow, chairman of council’s property and development committee.
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“Council is quite clear, before any suggestion of that happening, it has to come back towards council. We have some traffic issues we have to deal with, we have some transit issues to deal with. The RFP report may come back as such but again, council will need that information to make their decision to move forward.”
City of Winnipeg chief administrative officer Doug McNeil took responsibility for failing to advise members of council.
“There’s a lot going on in this city, and we’ve been working on the RFP for some time now,” McNeil said. “Maybe (it’s) my fault I didn’t inform council we were releasing the RFP when we did.”
He said there is no significance to the fall 2019 date in the RFP.
“It’s not a hard date, it’s a target and so we’re just following through with council’s direction,” McNeil said. “Council’s directions was: ‘Go back, do some more engineering, get us some cost estimates, bring that information back to us for our approval.’ And that’s what our plan is and that’s what this next stage is.”
Winnipeg appears divided on the issue.
Supporters say removing the barriers is essential to restoring human-scale activity to the area, connecting the various downtown neighbourhoods, and will complement private-sector investments being made by the corner property owners.
Opponents say the move poses a serious safety threat and would worsen downtown traffic flows.
The intersection was closed to pedestrians in 1979, as part of a deal with developers and property owners on its corners to construct an underground shopping concourse. Terms of the deal, which was struck in 1976, stipulated the intersection remain closed to pedestrians and all efforts made to redirect people to the underground.
However, Bowman has in recent years received the formal support for the project from all the corner-property owners.
A year-old traffic study estimated the costs to alter the routes through the intersection and widen sidewalks would cost about $6.13 million. The subsequent consultant work is expected to get a more accurate figure and detail how and when the corners can be opened.
Coun. Jeff Browaty, a staunch opponent of the project, said the revelation of the fall 2019 date and the scope of the work outlined in the RFP warrants the whole issue going back to council for another vote.
Other voices
The province’s trucking industry hopes Winnipeg city council moves cautiously on the issue of reopening Portage Avenue and Main Street to pedestrians.
Terry Shaw, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association, said while his group supports revitalizing the intersection and making it more people-friendly, he hopes the winning consultant will consider constructing elevated pedestrian bridges as an alternative to allowing people to walk through the intersection.
The province’s trucking industry hopes Winnipeg city council moves cautiously on the issue of reopening Portage Avenue and Main Street to pedestrians.
Terry Shaw, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association, said while his group supports revitalizing the intersection and making it more people-friendly, he hopes the winning consultant will consider constructing elevated pedestrian bridges as an alternative to allowing people to walk through the intersection.
“We have some concerns,” Shaw said. “We’re just hoping the city, if and when they proceed, factor in those concerns to ensure we reduce, eliminate or mitigate as much as possible any efficiency concerns but primarily any road safety concerns.”
Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Police Association condemned council’s pursuit of its “pet project,” saying it is jeopardizing other civic needs.
“It’s bad enough that this mayor and council continue to find millions of dollars for a pet project like the opening of Portage and Main, while leaving front-line police resources under pressure,” WPA president Maurice Sabourin said. “But doing this assuming it is the first thing the new council will do after the next civic election (in October) is even worse.
“If the election is just a formality, then what else is going on that we don’t know about?”
Browaty (North Kildonan) said he questions the direction outlined in the RFP, explaining the previous traffic study suggested opening the corners in phases would pose a safety hazard.
“Allowing pedestrians to cross one section introduces both confusion for motorists and encourages pedestrians to consider dangerous crossings that are not open,” Browaty said in a statement Wednesday. “Did CAO Doug McNeil, the project’s apparent project manager, also a professional engineer, sign off on this RFP, despite these warnings?”
Browaty also said council had agreed last year to improve the area’s underground concourse — and he’s concerned that work won’t happen before the intersection is reopened to pedestrians.
At its meeting Oct. 25, 2017, council approved spending up to $3.5 million on the intersection in 2018. In addition to the $1.5 million for engineering and architectural work, council also approved: $500,000 for new sidewalks, curbs and street trees for the plaza area directly in front of the Richardson Building; and $1.5 million to upgrade the underground concourse underneath the tower at 201 Portage Ave.
McNeil said a second RFP will be issued shortly for work to improve the underground concourse.
aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
