Another consultant hired to examine Portage and Main’s ‘pedestrian friendly’ opportunities
Second study for intersection
WINNIPEG city hall has commissioned a second consultant’s study examining the reopening of Portage and Main, even as it is putting the final touches on an administrative report for council’s October meeting that will outline the cost to remove the concrete barriers.
Doug Mc Neil, the city’s chief administrative officer, said the second study — awarded in July to a Vancouver firm at a cost of $70,000— will examine how the city can integrate public spaces above and below ground with adjoining private properties.
Mc Neil would not say when officials will propose a final cost for reopening the intersection and design plans, nor if the city will be ready tomove ahead with a reopening in 2018.
“I’m going to not answer any more detailed questions because it will all be in the (October) report,” Mc Neil told reporters Wednesday. He said the second study was done in response to concerns raised by property owners at the famous intersection of Main Street and Portage Avenue. They want to know what city hall will do to complement the investments they plan on spending once the intersection is open.
Mc Neil said the property owners said “the city needs to have a vision,” adding the first study only looked at the effect to traffic flow and pedestrians once the intersection is open to foot traffic.
The second consulting team will look at “how can we make Portage and Main more pedestrian-friendly, what kind of new urban design opportunities are there for Portage and Main, again, above and below,” Mc Neil said.
The intersection was closed to pedestrians in February 1979 as part of the deal for the private development of the underground retail and commercial space, with the city agreeing to construct the underground pedestrian concourse and prohibit pedestrian crossing. The terms of the deal with the developers required the city to keep the intersection closed for 40 years.
Mayor Brian Bowman made it a campaign commitment in the 2014 civic election to reopen the intersection. Bowman’s plan was to have the intersection opened ahead of the 2017 Canada Summer Games, which were held this summer.
Despite the terms of the original lease not expiring until February 2019, all property owners on the corners have agreed to reopen the intersection.
Coun. Jeff Browaty, who strongly opposes the move, said he was critical of the city to commission a second study before disclosing the findings of the first. The North Kildonan representative said Winnipeg residents deserve to know the costs and impacts on traffic flow before considering further expenditures to enhance the area.
Mc Neil said he will present an administrative report to council at its Oct. 25 meeting, based on the findings of the first study, which determined the impact on traffic flows once the intersection is opened. He said the administrative report will also include preliminary cost estimates to remove the barriers and changes to the intersection to accommodate pedestrian crossings.
Mc Neil said it’s not certain if the second study will be finished by the October meeting, nor if any of the proposals for design changes will be presented to council.
“I don’t know exactly how we’re going to incorporate that,” the CAO said. “We’re currently talking about that and working on the (administrative) report.”
Mc Neil said the reports going to council in October are only “the first steps” towards reopening the intersection.
* * * * *
Portage, Main key to growing downtown: Bowman
https://www.winnipegfreepress.
PORTAGE and Main was closed to pedestrians nearly 40 years ago, but Mayor Brian Bowman remains convinced reopening the intersection is necessary for Winnipeg’s growth.
“Opening up Portage and Main has never been only about tearing up barriers and throwing pedestrians into the mix and hoping for the best,” Bowman told reporters Wednesday. “It’s about studying how we can integrate with what is already happening in our downtown and create a vision based on partnering with the businesses and the community to develop a plan to make a transformation-only intersection everyone- friendly, not just car-friendly.”
The city’s iconic intersection was closed to pedestrians on Feb. 24, 1979. Bowman said he doesn’t imagine it transforming into a version of New York City’s Times Square, which was what former mayor Glen Murray hoped could be achieved when he initiated an international design competition in 2003.
Murray’s competition drew submissions from around the world.
But Murray was gone from the city when the winning design was chosen in 2005 and when a $10.5-million proposal was eventually presented to council in 2007, which incorporated the design changes and suggested the intersection be open on evenings and weekends, then-mayor Sam Katz wanted no part of it.
To see some of the submissions, go online to: wfp.to/portageandmain. The winning design, #073, was submitted by Toronto architect Janet Rosenberg & Associates, in collaboration with local firm Cibinel Architects.
While opinion surveys show a slight majority of Winnipeggers is opposed to reopening the intersection, Bowman said he believes the initiative is necessary.
“We’re not building a Times Square at Portage and Main, but we are working to study and understand ways to better connect our city, work with property owners in the area and create a vision that works for Winnipeg,” Bowman said.
“I continue to believe our Portage and Main intersection can bemore and can do more for our downtown and our city. It can help us better connect our city. It can help build a better sense of belonging, and it can becomea more engaging destination.”