Concerns still remain around Portage and Main after City reopens pedestrian traffic

A day after Winnipeg city council moved forward with reopening up Portage and Main to pedestrian traffic, there’s still concerns about the fate of the infrastructure below it.

Adam Dooley was the chair of the “vote open” committee during the 2018 plebiscite on whether to reopen the intersection to pedestrian traffic.

He says Thursday’s vote to reopen one of Winnipeg’s most iconic intersections moves the city forward.

“It’s good news, I think it’s a good common-sense decision. For forty-five years our signature intersection has been confusing, kind of ugly, and really embarrassing for a lot of people. Now we have an opportunity to welcome people back to our main intersection,” said Dooley.

Mayor Scott Gillingham at the beginning of the month said he was reversing course, now favouring the re-opening of the intersection to pedestrians and closing down the underground circus.

Gillingham pointing to the price to upkeep the underground circus mentioned in a city report which pegged the cost to be at $73 million.

Judy Waytiuk, whose late husband’s artwork lies in the underground circus says, costs factored into the $73 million estimate, such as water main and sewer work would still have to be done even if the city goes ahead with decommissioning the underground circus.

She isn’t against reopening up Portage and Main for pedestrian traffic, but says, the full scope of closing down the underground circus is not known.

“The sewer and water work under here needs to be done, the water and waste department told the public service it needs to be done,” said Waytiuk.

The city’s report pegs the cost of reopening up Portage and Main to be at $10 million plus another $20 to $50 million to decommission the underground circus, but the city’s own report cautions more study is needed on that figure.

“Council yesterday, very, very wisely said they need the public service to go study for a year what it is actually going to cost to close the concourse, what exactly that involves, how exactly all the business and property owners will be affected, what do people think. Council recognized without that information; you cannot reasonably decide to close the concourse.”