*Businesses have mixed feelings about proposed pathways*

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/2023/04/27/businesses-have-mixed-...

Businesses below Portage and Main have mixed feelings about proposed pathways above the iconic intersection.

On Tuesday, the City of Winnipeg released ideas to revitalize the downtown crossing, seeking public feedback. One rendering displayed a “sky garden” — a circular walkway six storeys above ground level with potential bridge connections to adjacent buildings.

Glass elevators would connect to the street, the plaza and the underground concourse.

“They already have the connection down below,” said Mike Publicover, owner of Stonework’s Bistro.

Publicover opened his Winnipeg Square eatery last year. Connecting to Winnipeg’s skyscrapers, including the new 300 Main, was a major consideration before settling, Publicover said.

“So now (people are) going to start walking over and above,” he said. “Will they come down?”

Already, businesses below struggle to get customers when the workday ends. Publicover’s feelings would be different if the underground network, which covers Portage and Main and extends outwards, didn’t exist.

“The added cost to the city of doing it, I don’t know that there’s value when there’s already something here,” Publicover said.

The city is preparing to replace the waterproof membrane protecting the underground concourse. It could cost between $15 million and $20 million to excavate the intersection’s surface for membrane repair, according to one engineering report.

More connections above ground could be good for business, said Melani Bastians.

“Down here, we do have a lot of folks who are Monday to Friday,” said Bastians, who owns two restaurants in Winnipeg Square.

When the weekend hits, customers leave and everything shutters, Bastians said. Taste of Sri Lanka, one of her businesses in the underground concourse, closes after 4 p.m. during the week and doesn’t open Saturdays or Sundays.

“I want more customers, always, and avenues of which they can get here,” Bastians said. “If we had overpasses, then it would support the general public.”

She’s now doubly invested in Winnipeg Square. Bastians opened The Green Eatery beside Taste of Sri Lanka three weeks ago.

“People don’t really know that there are places like this in Winnipeg Square,” added Adanna Hanniford, The Green Eatery’s manager.

If overpasses will bring people downtown, that’s good news, she said. The nearby GoodLife Fitness and the 300 Main residences are already positives for the restaurant, which has vegan and gluten-free products, Hanniford said.

Above-ground changes to Portage and Main likely wouldn’t affect Cookies by George, predicted Lasha Yaeger.

“We get business from there,” she said behind the counter, pointing to the Portage and Main concourse. “They’re coming here anyways. It’s not like they’re going to avoid us.”

Still, she worried businesses in the concourse might see fewer visitors if overpasses became concrete.

The proposed sky garden’s effect on underground businesses is hard to forecast, according to Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

New infrastructure could draw people to the area, he noted.

“Right now, I think our bigger concern isn’t skywalk/underground, it’s ‘How do we get more people downtown?’” he said.

Once traffic has increased, the focus becomes guiding people to shops and vendors downtown, he said.

“Some of the initial concerns were about costing and city priorities — all legitimate concerns. We really want to be creative, we really want to be innovative, and this is an opportunity to engage Winnipeggers in a conversation around ‘What kind of downtown do we want?’” Remillard said.

A public survey to give feedback on potential Portage and Main changes is open until May 26 at winnipeg.ca/portageandmain.

The city will also host two events about the ideas in May.

— with files from Joyanne Pursaga

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com