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Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Felt great, but also unremarkable:' pedestrians cross Portage and Main as city preps for official opening
The barricades are down at Portage Avenue and Main Street and Winnipeg's landmark intersection will soon be officially open to pedestrian traffic for the first time in more than four decades. No longer will pedestrians be forced to walk an additional block, or divert through an underground concourse, to cross the street. Friday morning rush hour was in full force as construction crews cleaned the last bits of dust and debris from newly finished sidewalk crossings on all four corners of the intersection. By 8 a.m., a small crowd of supporters had already gathered in anticipation of an official opening ceremony to be led by Mayor Scott Gillingham around 10:30 a.m. Construction crews remove the last of the barriers while impatient pedestrians cross the street at Portage Avenue and Main Street just hours before the crosswalks officially open Friday morning. (Mike Deal / Free Press) 'This intersection being closed has been such a chasm or an abyss in the middle of the city. Really, it just takes away from people being able to move,' said Emma Durand-Wood, a proponent of the Vote Open movement which has long advocated for removing the concrete barriers. 'It's just crazy that it was so difficult to (cross), and you'd be forced down into these kind of bunkers that smelled like urine and just so unpleasant.' Durand-Wood had her two children and bicycle in tow as she mingled with Vote Open supporters and other bystanders. The small crowd cheered on pedestrians who were already walking the intersection, stepping past temporary orange barricades and seizing the opportunity to cross between traffic signals. 'I already crossed last night,' Durand-Wood admitted, smiling. 'It felt great, but also, like, completely unremarkable.' When the intersection closed to pedestrian traffic in 1979, it was billed as a way to revitalize Winnipeg's downtown and streamline vehicle traffic through one of its busiest interchanges. Debate over whether to open the intersection has continued for years. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. In 2014, then-mayoral candidate Brian Bowman pledged to re-introduce foot traffic to Portage and Main during his election campaign. That move was later halted after the results of a 2018 plebiscite, in which two-thirds of voters rejected the reopening. A pedestrian crosses at Portage Avenue and Main Street on Friday morning.(Mike Deal / Free Press) The debate was settled in recent years, after a city report estimated it would cost $73 million to replace a leaky membrane protecting the underground concourse. Over the past several months, the large concrete barriers that corralled pedestrians away from the intersection have been removed. In their place, the city has installed new curbsides, crosswalks and electronic crossing signals which — although currently covered — will be unveiled after the mayor says a few words. More to come. Tyler SearleReporter 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. Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
21 hours ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Supporters of removing barriers at Portage and Main excited to take steps 46 years in the making
Brent Bellamy plans to be one of the first to cross Portage and Main — and he plans to do so in style. The Winnipeg intersection will open to pedestrian traffic Friday morning for the first time since 1979, and Bellamy will be wearing a custom T-shirt with results from the 2018 plebiscite in which 65 per cent of Winnipeggers voted to keep the streets closed. 'I'll be there first thing in the morning. I might cross back and forth all day, actually, just for fun,' Bellamy said Thursday. 'It's obviously long overdue.' The creative director for Number Ten Architectural Group and Free Press columnist has been one of many long-standing advocates for removing the concrete barricades that prevented Winnipeggers from crossing the intersection for nearly 50 years. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Brent Bellamy at Portage and Main the day before the crosswalks are going to become active, allowing people to cross the famous intersection, legally, for the first time since 1979. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Brent Bellamy at Portage and Main the day before the crosswalks are going to become active, allowing people to cross the famous intersection, legally, for the first time since 1979. 'At one time it was the centre of our city, and it was where people came together,' he said. 'The storefronts in every direction are empty, and the plazas are empty all the time. It's really just a place void of life.' With nearly 20,000 people living and working between the intersection, Bellamy believes people returning to the sidewalk will help bring a new energy and life to the downtown. 'I don't expect the world is going to change in one day, but I think there are lots of good things happening already.'–Brent Bellamy 'I don't expect the world is going to change in one day, but I think there are lots of good things happening already,' Bellamy said. 'Reintroducing Winnipeg's history back into our consciousness will be an important thing.' He hopes that will someday include the city revitalizing the area using art and sculptures to tell the story of Winnipeg's history. Adam Dooley, another prominent supporter for opening the intersection, said he's thrilled the city is correcting what he called a 45-year-old mistake. 'It's a time of hope and progress for how we're looking at how we should be building our cities,' said Dooley, who was a spokesperson for the Vote Open campaign prior to the 2018 plebiscite under then-mayor Brian Bowman. 'Cities need to be designed for people first and cars second.' At the time, Winnipeggers voted 'no' by nearly a 2-1 margin in the non-binding plebiscite. Dooley hopes the public takes pride in the change as he believes it will help people feel safer and help visitors better navigate the area. Mayor Scott Gillingham will do something Friday Winnipeggers haven't been able to do legally in 46 years — walk across Portage and Main. Gillingham, with Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, and representatives from construction company MD Steele, will take the first steps following a brief ceremony planned for 10:30 a.m. Mayor Scott Gillingham will do something Friday Winnipeggers haven't been able to do legally in 46 years — walk across Portage and Main. Gillingham, with Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, and representatives from construction company MD Steele, will take the first steps following a brief ceremony planned for 10:30 a.m. 'I simply plan to walk across the street, when the walk light tells me I can,' Gillingham said Wednesday. The mayor stressed patience with the intersection, which closed to pedestrians in 1979 as foot traffic was redirected to an underground concourse. 'I once again please ask motorists, cyclists and pedestrians to be patient,' he said. 'Slow down, slow down at all intersections, but certainly at Portage and Main. This is going to be an adjustment. For 46 years, pedestrians have not been permitted to cross that intersection. Now they will be permitted to cross that intersection. 'So, let's just have everybody be patient.' The opening will occur despite a 2018 citywide plebiscite where 65 per cent voted 'no' to opening the intersection. The mayor said the move will help revitalize the area. 'Opening Portage and Main to pedestrians is not going to save downtown, but it is one important piece of many pieces of investment that are happening simultaneously throughout the downtown.' Gillingham said a report on the underground concourse will come forward this fall. — Kevin Rollason He intends on celebrating the occasion by walking across the intersection with other Vote Open colleagues. Former mayor Glen Murray, another significant proponent of foot traffic at Portage and Main, applauded the move but said it won't change much. 'Opened or closed, the serious issue is how everything functions,' said Murray, who served on the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone for eight years. 'It's good news, but it has a marginal impact.' Murray said the open intersection won't change the city's ability to retain strong business development, which he said is affected by heavy, undisturbed crime and traffic congestion caused by poor street planning. 'Every time I go back to the city for a couple of months, I just go for a long walk through the city or go on my bike, and I'm always sad to see what's going on downtown,' he said. 'We're just not seeming to get it.' Murray, who has residences in Winnipeg and Toronto, said Portage and Main needs to be restructured so it is cohesive for everyone. He believes parks, residential developments, businesses, and pedestrians should be spotted every three blocks within either direction of the two streets. 'This moves us in the direction we need to go, which is a downtown that invites people to the heart of the city that makes it an exciting place to go.'–Loren Remillard Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, expects more people to be engaged with downtown once the blockades are permanently axed. 'This moves us in the direction we need to go, which is a downtown that invites people to the heart of the city that makes it an exciting place to go. People walking and milling around downtown who don't normally come for activities will start to build more momentum that we need.' Remillard knows crossing an intersection is not the be-all and end-all or the cure to what ails downtown, but he said it is a key ingredient to becoming a people-centred area. 'It's been a long time coming, and we're hoping it will create a vibrant atmosphere with people walking, engaging in events, and activities downtown,' he said. Remillard said members from the Chamber will be crossing the street Friday and working with partners and businesses to celebrate a historic Winnipeg moment.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Putting people before cars — finally
Opinion The first time I encountered the barriers at Portage and Main was in September of 2004 when I was visiting Winnipeg for research interviews. I walked from my hotel to city hall after consulting Google Maps (remember those?), feeling confident that it was a straightforward jaunt down Main Street. I couldn't have been more wrong. I was confounded when I was forced to go underground into a dark, nearly empty mall that had me going in circles to find way out and finally in desperation, with the clock ticking, I gave up. I got out, above ground on the south side of Main, pulled my skirt above my knees, carefully watching for traffic and jumped the barriers, to cross safely. That was my introduction to the famous Portage and Main. I, for one, am not sad to see those barriers go. I say this as a longtime resident of this city, living in the southside. I regularly drive downtown. I will be happy to cross the intersection come Friday as a pedestrian, without having to hike up my skirt. I have never understood the logic. In 2014, former mayor Brian Bowman pledged to open Portage and Main within five years of winning office. Of course, he failed to do that. Instead of championing the opening as a way of reinvigorating the downtown, he turned it into a plebiscite question in 2018 — with 65 per cent of Winnipeggers supporting the status quo. Fast forward to 2024. A new city report revealed that carrying out repairs on the intersection while maintaining the underground walkway would cost $73 million and disrupt traffic for up to five years. Much of the work would involve repairing a leaky membrane that prevents the underground from flooding. That changed the ball game. Closing the underground mall and opening up the intersection became a no-brainer after that. The problems with the leaks, by the way, were no surprise to the Vote Open group advocating for the barriers to come down. It was well known at the time of the plebiscite that the membrane was going to cost considerable dollars to fix but just how much was not clear. As Dan Lett has already argued in a column earlier this week, Winnipeg has made it to the 'bigs' now — following in the footsteps of other major cities like Boston, San Francisco, Halifax and Milwaukee who have also deconstructed their monuments to the automobile and envisioned a downtown that's people-friendly. Even when it's -50 with the windchill. Ian McCausland was a tireless advocate for the Vote Open Team in 2018 and has become a voice for making this city more accessible and less reliant on vehicles in the years since. Does he feel a certain degree of satisfaction now that the historic corner is opening after all the debate? 'While I wouldn't have loved to see the Yes vote win in 2018, I am still very excited to see the changes happen now. Winnipeg doesn't change very fast, sometimes that a good thing sometimes it's a frustrating thing, it's very much a Winnipeg thing.' Yes, it's a Winnipeg thing. In 2014, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce unveiled its 'Bold' campaign outlining policy initiatives that it hoped city leaders would implement to — in part — transform the downtown into a livable, organic neighborhood. It seems that more than 10 years later, it's finally starting to take place with Portage and Main opening and other new initiatives like the closure of Graham Avenue to create a pedestrian mall. McCausland sees this as exciting. 'I think we're seeing a beginning, a move toward a more walkable, friendly and equitable downtown. As the city continues to grow in population, we have to find ways for everyone to get out of the 'one person/one car commute.' These are positive steps towards that.' Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. Also part of the 2014 'Bold' vision from the chamber was the implementation of active-transportation initiatives and that goes directly to how we can become a more inclusive city. McCausland explains: 'Since 2018 I have learned so much about how transportation is a reflection of our community. How we move round each other is just as important as when we get there. Transportation equity is where we factor in the 25 per cent of the population that doesn't own a car and make efforts of inclusion and accessibility.' This week marks my 20th anniversary in this city. I am still somewhat baffled yet enraptured by all its proclivities. And I am glad I am living here as it makes its 'Bold' transformation. And just like most things Winnipeg, I also know there will be a ton of naysayers on the sidelines telling us it will never be successful. That too is a Winnipeg thing. Shannon Sampert is a political scientist. She can be reached at shannon@
