Six years ago Winnipegers voted in favour of a motion which was put to them on the civic election ballot. Now, though, the current City Council has decided that the two-thirds of those who voted to keep Portage and Main closed to pedestrian traffic can, well, take a hike. It’s been decided by the current mayor and council (by a vote of 11 to 3 with two absent) that the barricades will fall and the concourse will be shuttered.
This will please advocates of pedestrian traffic at our most famous intersection. They’ve long maintained that we need to see people crossing above ground to know that they’re there. This will guarantee that they’ll be seen.
The reason provided for disregarding the public is the cost of upgrades to the concourse, which could cost approximately $73 million. Closing it could cost $50 million. The cost to make the changes to the intersection is unknown.
The lack of functionality tells us that this is going to be problematic for everyone. Local businesses will feel the pinch. Both motorists and those brave enough to ride public transit will find themselves having to budget extra time to get to their destination.
Advocates for opening Portage and Main have pointed to other famous intersections like Yonge and Bloor in Toronto or even Times Square in New York. We’re talking apples and acorns. In the case of both Toronto and New York, motorists have many options to avoid those intersections.
Not in our case. Unless you’d like to drive through the Exc.