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EPC votes for plan; Downtown BIZ concerned

A step closer to pedestrians on Portage and Main

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2024/03/12/epc-votes-in-favou...

THE proposal to reopen pedestrian access at the Portage and Main intersection and decommission its underground concourse passed a key hurdle Tuesday.

City council’s executive policy committee cast a 5-1 vote in favour of the move, despite hearing concerns the below-grade closure will hurt businesses linked to the structure.

After applauding the pedestrian reopening as a way to spark street-level activity, Downtown Winnipeg BIZ chief executive officer Kate Fenske told EPC she is similarly worried about the below- ground changes.

“We’re hoping this doesn’t have to be an either/or position… Decommissioning the underground would have a huge impact on their livelihoods and could also impact the success of other businesses connected to the city-owned Portage and Main underground,” said Fenske.

The sheltered walkways also offer a key option for employees of many downtown businesses to travel between buildings, especially during the winter, she added.

“Opening the intersection at Portage and Main to pedestrians is absolutely a priority, but Winnipeg’s underground is so much more than just an intersection,” she said, suggesting the city collaborate with the BIZ to address any negative impacts.

Mayor Scott Gillingham later told reporters the feedback “doesn’t change anything for me.”

“I’ve committed to having discussions with the property owners and the business owners, as well. We know that businesses, obviously, within the circus… would be affected by its closure but also businesses that are located under the properties. Part of our commitment is to be in discussion with the property owners and the businesses to try to find a way to assist them,” he said.

The mayor stressed decommissioning of the site would not happen immediately, though the City of Winnipeg hasn’t provided a timeline.

Gillingham said it’s “too soon to tell” whether the city could compensate the six tenants who now rent spaces within the city’s portion of the concourse.

“The decommissioning wouldn’t happen immediately. It would take a while to all play out, so there’s time for dialogue.”

The mayor has stressed there is a clear financial basis for the changes, noting replacing a leaking membrane to protect the concourse would cost an estimated $73 million and require up to five years of traffic-delaying construction.

The mayor’s office said Winnipeg received about $111,000 in rent from concourse businesses in 2023, but paid $1.011 million to operate and maintain the site the same year.

An early estimate suggests it would cost about $20 million to $50 million to close the concourse.

After decades of heated debate over the site’s future, Gillingham said the relatively muted response to his current call to reopen it to pedestrians is likely related to Winnipeg’s need to address more urgent concerns.

“I’m not saying the opening of Portage and Main is not important, but there are just more things that are pressing in our community right now — whether it’s housing, safety, the need to continue to address homelessness in our community. I think the public is wanting us to focus on those things.”

At EPC, the mayor joined Couns. Sherri Rollins, Evan Duncan, Janice Lukes and Brian Mayes to vote in favour of the Portage and Main plan; Coun. Jeff Browaty voted against it.

Browaty stressed the underground walkway is an important piece of public infrastructure. “Many groups are concerned with this out-of-the-blue closure scenario, accessibility advocates, business owners, people working downtown… At this point, no real work has been done to study the shuttering of the underground circus.”

While the matter still awaits a final council vote, Gillingham said he believes there is sufficient support among elected officials to get the plan approved.

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