Mayor Brian Bowman’s dream of opening up Winnipeg’s iconic intersection to pedestrian traffic faces a generational roadblock.
A poll by Probe Research shows a clear age split on the issue — 68 per cent of people 55 and older are against reopening Portage and Main to pedestrians, while 61 per cent of people aged 18 to 34 are in favour.
Overall, a slight majority of Winnipeggers (53 per cent) remains opposed to removing the pedestrian barriers.
"I think the Probe survey is very much in line with what we know," Downtown BIZ CEO Stefano Grande said.
"There is a segment of the population, the future generation, that understands for our generation to be vibrant we have to be able to walk from district to district. We have to be able to easily walk from our homes to our offices, our offices to our restaurants, and that means crossing streets.
"The people who are starting to live here, the younger people who are starting to work here, we get it."
Grande and Bowman said they aren’t troubled a majority of Winnipeggers remains opposed. They say reopening the intersection is integral to downtown growth and its transformation into a vibrant neighbourhood.
"The property owners in the immediate area as well as the surrounding areas, in our view, are overwhelmingly in support of (reopening)," Bowman said.
"We want to ensure when it’s opened, it’s done in a way that respects traffic flows as well as pedestrian safety but also supports the increasing number of residents and businesses downtown."
The poll found there has been a slight shift in support of reopening the intersection during the past 20 years Probe has been gauging public interest on the question. In 1997, 36 per cent supported opening the intersection. The most recent findings put that number at 42 per cent.
For Bowman, it’s not a question of if the barricades will come down, but when. It must be done in a way that maintains traffic flow and protects pedestrians. He has pledged to have it open in time for the 2017 Canada Summer Games, which Winnipeg will host.
Tourists don’t like the barriers, he said, adding they find it difficult to find their way around the underground shopping mall.
"Tourists want to be on street level," Bowman said. "They don’t understand how to migrate (underground)."
Lennard Taylor, owner of Lennard Taylor Design Studio on nearby McDermot Avenue, agreed.
"People from out of town, they come to my shop and they say, ‘What’s with that underground thing? I got lost,’" he said. "And there are a lot of people from Winnipeg who get lost in the underground. I think the signs are poor; it’s just confusing for people.
"I know it because I’ve lived downtown for 10 years, but I think it’s difficult for people to understand the underground and why they can’t just cross the street."
Another young businessman, Peter Takis, who runs three businesses within blocks of Portage and Main, said he’s "all for" opening up the intersection to pedestrians.
"I would like to see it," Takis said, adding he supports "any innovative development or change in the Exchange or downtown that can create convenience for downtown."
Takis’s businesses include the List on McDermot, Blackli$t Boutique on Albert and Blackli$t Studios on Portage. He suggested tearing down the barriers "could help business."
When Bowman hosted the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference last month, other mayors added their voices to the debate.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi called it the most hostile pedestrian environment he’s seen. Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said the barriers are counter-productive to what the city’s objectives should be — creating a downtown hub of pedestrian activity.
Bowman said new developments such as True North Square and The Forks’ Railside multi-use project will attract more residents downtown but leaving the barriers in place will stop the flow of people.
"We are seeing a big increase in pedestrian traffic," Bowman said. "More people walking downtown is a good thing."
Bowman said there are several intersections in the city that are busier and wider than Portage and Main, but he hasn’t heard a call to ban pedestrians from those crossings.
"There are (other intersections) with more lanes, higher traffic volumes and currently allow pedestrian to cross. We’re not hearing an outcry of people wanting to close those to pedestrians," Bowman said.
"We want to ensure we’re doing everything we can to ensure the safety at all the intersections but those that oppose (re-opening), we don’t hear from them they want those other intersections closed to pedestrians."
— with files by Alexandra De Pape
Talk on the street
about Portage & Main
PROBE Research surveyed 404 members of its proprietary Manitoba online panel from June 30 to July 4. Because this is a non-probability sample, no statistical margin of error can be ascribed.
Probe put the following question to its online panel:
“The intersection of Portage and Main in downtown Winnipeg has been closed to pedestrians for almost 40 years. There has been ongoing discussion about reopening the corner to pedestrians. All things considered, do you support or oppose reopening the corner to pedestrians?”
The results:
Strongly oppose: 38 per cent
Moderately oppose: 15 per cent
Moderately support: 23 per cent
Strongly support: 19 per cent
Unsure: 6 per cent
The results by age:
Ages 18-34: 61 per cent support; 27 per cent oppose
Ages 35-54: 38 per cent support; 59 per cent oppose
Ages 55-plus: 28 per cent support; 68 per cent oppose
The results historically:
In 1997: 36 per cent support for reopening intersection to pedestrians
In 2001: 39 per cent
In 2006: 40 per cent
In 2016: 42 per cent
Portage and Main may be the country’s most famous intersection, but it’s not Winnipeg’s busiest. The mayor’s office says in 2015, there were five intersections with more lanes of traffic and greater traffic volumes over a 24-hour period than Portage and Main. Here’s how they rank:
Lagimodiere Blvd and Regent Avenue West — 86,900 vehicles
Moray Street at Portage Avenue — 83,300 vehicles
Waverley Street at Bishop Grandin Blvd — 80,000 vehicles
Century Street at Ness Avenue — 79,500 vehicles
Kenaston Blvd at Sterling Lyon Parkway — 78,900 vehicles
Portage and Main — 77,500 vehicles