Supporters of removing barriers at Portage and Main excited to take steps 46 years in the making
Brent Bellamy plans to be one of the first to cross Portage and Main — and he plans to do so in style.
The Winnipeg intersection will open to pedestrian traffic Friday morning for the first time since 1979, and Bellamy will be wearing a custom T-shirt with results from the 2018 plebiscite in which 65 per cent of Winnipeggers voted to keep the streets closed.
'I'll be there first thing in the morning. I might cross back and forth all day, actually, just for fun,' Bellamy said Thursday. 'It's obviously long overdue.'
The creative director for Number Ten Architectural Group and Free Press columnist has been one of many long-standing advocates for removing the concrete barricades that prevented Winnipeggers from crossing the intersection for nearly 50 years.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Brent Bellamy at Portage and Main the day before the crosswalks are going to become active, allowing people to cross the famous intersection, legally, for the first time since 1979.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Brent Bellamy at Portage and Main the day before the crosswalks are going to become active, allowing people to cross the famous intersection, legally, for the first time since 1979.
'At one time it was the centre of our city, and it was where people came together,' he said. 'The storefronts in every direction are empty, and the plazas are empty all the time. It's really just a place void of life.'
With nearly 20,000 people living and working between the intersection, Bellamy believes people returning to the sidewalk will help bring a new energy and life to the downtown.
'I don't expect the world is going to change in one day, but I think there are lots of good things happening already.'–Brent Bellamy
'I don't expect the world is going to change in one day, but I think there are lots of good things happening already,' Bellamy said. 'Reintroducing Winnipeg's history back into our consciousness will be an important thing.'
He hopes that will someday include the city revitalizing the area using art and sculptures to tell the story of Winnipeg's history.
Adam Dooley, another prominent supporter for opening the intersection, said he's thrilled the city is correcting what he called a 45-year-old mistake.
'It's a time of hope and progress for how we're looking at how we should be building our cities,' said Dooley, who was a spokesperson for the Vote Open campaign prior to the 2018 plebiscite under then-mayor Brian Bowman. 'Cities need to be designed for people first and cars second.'
At the time, Winnipeggers voted 'no' by nearly a 2-1 margin in the non-binding plebiscite.
Dooley hopes the public takes pride in the change as he believes it will help people feel safer and help visitors better navigate the area.
Mayor Scott Gillingham will do something Friday Winnipeggers haven't been able to do legally in 46 years — walk across Portage and Main.
Gillingham, with Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, and representatives from construction company MD Steele, will take the first steps following a brief ceremony planned for 10:30 a.m.
Mayor Scott Gillingham will do something Friday Winnipeggers haven't been able to do legally in 46 years — walk across Portage and Main.
Gillingham, with Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, and representatives from construction company MD Steele, will take the first steps following a brief ceremony planned for 10:30 a.m.
'I simply plan to walk across the street, when the walk light tells me I can,' Gillingham said Wednesday.
The mayor stressed patience with the intersection, which closed to pedestrians in 1979 as foot traffic was redirected to an underground concourse.
'I once again please ask motorists, cyclists and pedestrians to be patient,' he said.
'Slow down, slow down at all intersections, but certainly at Portage and Main. This is going to be an adjustment. For 46 years, pedestrians have not been permitted to cross that intersection. Now they will be permitted to cross that intersection.
'So, let's just have everybody be patient.'
The opening will occur despite a 2018 citywide plebiscite where 65 per cent voted 'no' to opening the intersection.
The mayor said the move will help revitalize the area.
'Opening Portage and Main to pedestrians is not going to save downtown, but it is one important piece of many pieces of investment that are happening simultaneously throughout the downtown.'
Gillingham said a report on the underground concourse will come forward this fall.
— Kevin Rollason
He intends on celebrating the occasion by walking across the intersection with other Vote Open colleagues.
Former mayor Glen Murray, another significant proponent of foot traffic at Portage and Main, applauded the move but said it won't change much.
'Opened or closed, the serious issue is how everything functions,' said Murray, who served on the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone for eight years. 'It's good news, but it has a marginal impact.'
Murray said the open intersection won't change the city's ability to retain strong business development, which he said is affected by heavy, undisturbed crime and traffic congestion caused by poor street planning.
'Every time I go back to the city for a couple of months, I just go for a long walk through the city or go on my bike, and I'm always sad to see what's going on downtown,' he said. 'We're just not seeming to get it.'
Murray, who has residences in Winnipeg and Toronto, said Portage and Main needs to be restructured so it is cohesive for everyone. He believes parks, residential developments, businesses, and pedestrians should be spotted every three blocks within either direction of the two streets.
'This moves us in the direction we need to go, which is a downtown that invites people to the heart of the city that makes it an exciting place to go.'–Loren Remillard
Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, expects more people to be engaged with downtown once the blockades are permanently axed.
'This moves us in the direction we need to go, which is a downtown that invites people to the heart of the city that makes it an exciting place to go. People walking and milling around downtown who don't normally come for activities will start to build more momentum that we need.'
Remillard knows crossing an intersection is not the be-all and end-all or the cure to what ails downtown, but he said it is a key ingredient to becoming a people-centred area.
'It's been a long time coming, and we're hoping it will create a vibrant atmosphere with people walking, engaging in events, and activities downtown,' he said.
Remillard said members from the Chamber will be crossing the street Friday and working with partners and businesses to celebrate a historic Winnipeg moment.
massimo.deluca-taronno@freepress.mb.ca
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