Only 33 per cent of those polled support removing barricades at iconic intersection
Don’t open Portage and Main: poll
THOSE hoping for Winnipeggers to come out in droves to vote in next month’s referendum in favour of reopening Portage and Main to foot traffic shouldn’t hold their breath.
Winnipeggers are resoundingly opposed to the idea, according to a new Probe Research survey commissioned by CBC News.
Sixty-seven per cent of people interviewed for the survey— which employed statistical weighting designed to make the results representative of Winnipeg’s voting-eligible population — oppose reopening the iconic intersection.
Only 33 per cent of those polled support removing the barricades that have kept the Portage Avenue and Main Street intersection shuttered to pedestrians since 1979. The poll has a four per cent margin of error, according to Probe Research.
“We’ve tracked this over the years. There has always been a majority who reject the reopening. I would have been surprised had this survey shown otherwise, because I haven’t seen that in 20 years,” Probe Research president Scott MacKay said Wednesday.
“But now, this enthusiasm for reopening has declined to an all-time low. It seems people have really dug in on this and their views have hardened.”
While many commentators have tried to draw fault lines in the debate— people who live downtown versus people who live in the suburbs, for example — the poll shows otherwise.
“There really is no demographic group where you will find a majority of people favouring the reopening. That includes groups you might expect to favour the reopening,” MacKay said.
“People who work and play downtown, go to a lot of concerts, sports events, live there and work there – even that group is not in favour of the reopening. So you have to ask: if not them, then who?”
Mayor Brian Bowman, who has long been a vocal proponent of reopening the intersection, said he wasn’t surprised by the results of the survey. It has long been a polarizing topic people feel passionate about, he said.
On Wednesday, he took the opportunity to reaffirm his promise to respect the outcome of the referendum — even though it’s non-binding. If the ‘no’ vote wins, he won’t bring the matter up again over his next term, if re-elected, Bowman added.
“Voters are always right. They’ll have their say, and I’ll fully respect that.”
Most people surveyed indicated there was little that will change their mind prior to the Oct. 24 referendum. Seventy-six per cent of respondents said their views on the matter were firmly entrenched.
That isn’t good news for the Coalition for Portage and Main, the volunteer group behind the campaign to get the intersection reopened to pedestrians.
Adam Dooley, a coalition spokesman, said while the survey results are disheartening, those involved with the campaign knew they were fighting an uphill battle — it’s just maybe more steep than they realized.
“We respect people’s opinions, but we’re hopeful people will come out and make an informed vote. We know that they’re smart and they want what’s best for the city. We’re going to do our best to get the information out there,” Dooley said.
“We take hope in the fact that when we speak to people and lay out the facts, we tend to get people to change their minds on this issue. So, hopefully, we’ll swing some votes. There’s still a lot of time between now and (civic) election day.”
Brent Bellamy, a local architect and coalition spokesman, questions the fairness of putting the matter to a referendum, as much larger and more costly infrastructure projects don’t get such treatment.
“There are very few public works projects that we could single out and put to a public vote that would receive a majority of public support,” Bellamy said in an email to the Free Press.
He also pointed to other projects, including The Forks, Bell MTS Centre and Esplanade Riel, which faced significant opposition, but which people now recognize provide public value.
After reviewing the results of the survey, MacKay said one question posed to respondents cuts to the heart of the matter. Pollsters asked respondents for their take on the following statement: the smooth flow of traffic downtown is more important than pedestrian access.
Eighty-five per cent of people opposed to reopening the intersection agreed with the statement, while 76 per cent who want the intersection reopened disagreed. “That’s a competing vision about what a downtown should be about. For better or worse, the prevailing view is that it should be about cars. That’s the whole battleground right there,” MacKay explained.
“It’s all about whether the car is king or not.”
— with files from Carol Sanders and Aldo Santin
ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca