WINNIPEG – A city hall committee voted Thursday to go forward with a plan to look at opening Portage Avenue and Main Street to pedestrians.
Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry Coun. Jenny Gerbasi voted for the motion, which will have administration working with property owners and businesses around the intersection and begin doing research on pedestrian movement and traffic flow in the area.
“I think people are aware that if we don’t take the steps and do the ground work, we could end up having Portage and Main closed to pedestrians for another 40 years unless we work with the property owners, come up with solutions to the issues,” she said. “I think it’s a very important piece to revitalizing our downtown to have a smooth flow of pedestrians between one part of the downtown and another.”
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A 40-year deal between the city and area businesses to force pedestrians into an underground mall walkway expires in 2019.
North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty voted against the motion at the downtown development committee meeting Thursday.
“Over these years, Portage and Main has become a major arterial roadway,” Browaty said. “There’s heavy traffic through it most times of the day. I just don’t think we need to look at reopening it at this point. I don’t think the public is clamoring for it and with the underground network that’s there, you can get in through any corner to get to any of the other corners day and night to get wherever you’re going.”
“We need to make it people-friendly both underground and above ground,” said Gerbasi.
The administration will begin doing the research before showing council their findings. No date has been set.
Last month, councillors heard a report from city staff that 200,000 vehicles pass through Portage and Main every day. If it were open to foot traffic, 1,000 pedestrians would cross every day.
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