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Poll shows U-turn on Portage and Main

Most Winnipeggers now support reopening intersection

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2024/03/20/u-turn-on-portage-and-main

A MAJORITY of Winnipeggers is in favour of reopening Portage and Main to pedestrians six years after an overwhelming “no,” a new poll suggested ahead of a council vote Thursday.

More than a quarter of those polled in the Free Press- Probe Research survey said they voted against the proposal in a 2018 plebiscite, but have since changed their mind.

“When you look at this new information, I think a lot of people, like me, are making a different decision than they did six years ago,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said Wednesday.

The “new information” is the estimated $73 million cost and up to five years of traffic disruption associated with proposed repairs to the pedestrian concourse beneath the iconic downtown intersection.

“When people, like I did, get this new information, it moves us toward the practical alternative, which is to reopen the intersection at-grade,” said Gillingham.

The online survey of 600 Winnipeg adults was conducted between March 5-18.

A total of 61 per cent said they strongly or somewhat support restoring pedestrian access, while 39 per cent are strongly or somewhat against it.

Women, younger adults, university graduates and supporters of the provincial NDP and Liberals were among those more likely to be in favour. Portage and Main has been closed to pedestrians since 1979.

In 2018’s non-binding plebiscite, 65 per cent of voters were against removing concrete barriers and reopening the junction to foot traffic, while 35 per cent were in favour.

The Free Press- Probe Research poll suggests 28 per cent of those who voted “no” are now strongly or somewhat in support.

“We have seen a pretty significant chunk of suburban Winnipeggers think this is the right thing to do, given the cost and the support (on council),” said Probe Research principal Curtis Brown. “There hasn’t been as much vocal opposition compared to six years ago.”

Support outpaced opposition in four of five areas of the city.

The strongest support is in the city’s core (72 per cent in favour), followed by the southwest (61 per cent), northwest (60 per cent) and southeast (58 per cent). Northeast Winnipeg had the highest proportion of opposition (53 per cent).

Potential traffic impacts and negative attitudes toward downtown were probable factors, said North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty.

The finance committee chair said he is open to allowing pedestrians only at off-peak times. He said a full reopening should be trialled for 12-18 months — to assess traffic pattern changes and economic impacts — before a final decision is made.

A 2017 study by a consulting firm suggested a few minutes would be added to most commutes. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed work and commuting patterns for some Winnipeggers, the mayor has said.

Browaty said council shouldn’t consider closing the underground concourse until it sees a complete study. He fears property and rental values could decline if the concourse is closed.

At a March 12 executive policy committee meeting, Browaty was the lone member to vote against a motion to reopen Portage and Main to pedestrians by July 1, 2025, and proceed with an eventual concourse closure in consultation with affected businesses and property owners.

Council is scheduled to vote today. “It seems like the mayor has the votes for it,” said Brown. “No matter what happens, there definitely will be people who are not happy.”

Gillingham believes the motion has enough support, but he is not expecting a unanimous vote.

If approved, an external engineering study will

help to determine the design and cost of a pedestrian- friendly intersection.

The vote is taking place less than three weeks after Gillingham announced he is now in favour of reopening Portage and Main to pedestrians.

The U-turn was prompted by a report from the city’s acting urban planning manager, who said it could cost $73 million and disrupt traffic for up to five years to replace a leaking membrane under the concrete that protects the concourse.

“I could see why that could sway people’s decision,” said Coun. Vivian Santos, who supports pedestrian access to the intersection, which is in her Point Douglas ward.

Decommissioning the concourse, meanwhile, could cost between $20 million and $50 million, subject to further study. Gillingham has said it costs the city about $1 million annually to operate and maintain the concourse.

The Building Owners and Managers Association of Manitoba has spoken out against the proposed closure, describing it as “short-sighted” and “based on incomplete information.”

The city said about 72,000 vehicles pass through Portage and Main on a weekday, which is 10 per cent less than in 2016. It is Winnipeg’s sixth busiest intersection.

Last year, a study counted more than 2,100 pedestrians in the underground circus during a two hour period at midday on a weekday. More than 1,500 people walked by the intersection on adjacent sidewalks during counts in mid-January.

Probe Research said its survey comprised a random and representative sampling of Winnipeggers. Live operators, an automated phone system and an online panel were used to recruit respondents.

The polling firm said the survey has a margin of error of four percentage points, 95 per cent of the time.

Margins of error are higher within sub-groups, such as gender, age and education.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

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