Most councillors behind mayor

WINNIPEG Mayor Scott Gillingham said he thinks a motion to reopen Portage and Main to pedestrians by the summer of 2025 has the support of most of his fellow councillors.

He was joined at his city hall press conference by councillors Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre), Janice Lukes (Waverley West), Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge - East Fort Garry) and Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) who spoke in favour of it.

“Once we start opening things up, we’re going to see a flurry of businesses,” said Gilroy. “When people are around, there is more safety. It builds a downtown where people want to come and live,” she said.

Rollins said she and her colleagues have reached out to business organizations about the impact on retailers in the concourse.

“We want to keep businesses in the downtown,” she said. “We care a lot about the empty spaces that we want to see filled above ground, too.”

Santos said businesses and residents have been asking to open up the intersection and improve access to businesses and services at street level.

Others also expressed support.

“These types of decisions require leadership and I am glad to see the mayor has taken that approach,” said Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood).

“Open the intersection to pedestrian traffic, close the lower level and let’s get on with life,” Duncan said in an email.

Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River) said he, too, is in favour.

So is St. James’ Shawn Dobson. “Opening Portage and Main might be the best financial decision we can make,” Dobson said. The cost of repairs to the concourse membrane, a reduction in pedestrian volume since the pandemic and a need to reinvigorate downtown are three reasons he cited for supporting reopening the intersection.

Ross Eadie (Mynarski) said he will vote “yes” but has “concerns and conditions” he wants addressed. Eadie said $73 million would be better spent on replacing the Arlington Bridge.

Matt Allard (St. Boniface) and Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) both said they weren’t prepared to comment Friday.

Some other expressed opposition for different reasons.

Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) said repairing the underground concourse is worth it and questions the cost involved in closing it for good.

“The reality is we don’t know what the actual costs are to do the mothballing, to close the concourse entirely,” he told reporters after the mayor’s press conference.

“We don’t know how long that’s going to take, what the level of construction is to fill it in, so to speak.”

He said the $20 million to $50 million cost suggested by the mayor “is really from the back of a cocktail napkin.”

The mayor was “putting too much emphasis” on the traffic interruptions if the $73-million repair goes ahead, said Browaty who supports spending to keep the underground concourse open.

“I think there’s a lot of advantage to our downtown for people who work in that core for people to use the retail amenities in the underground concourses.”

Holding another plebiscite on the matter is unwarranted, he said.

“Winnipeggers have spoken. They don’t want it open.”

Russ Wyatt (Transcona) said a plebiscite is necessary and Winnipeggers should decide on reopening Portage and Main.

“Their voice is being completely ignored by city hall today and being undermined.” He said the city should be getting a second opinion.

Brian Mayes (St. Vital) said he’s neither for nor against the reopening — it’s the timeline for making a decision that he called “very troubling.”

“I am disturbed by the rush to get this decided,” he said Friday. “This is a pretty big issue.”

Councillors Jason Schreyer and John Orlikow did not respond to a request for comment.