Murray, Gillingham bypassing Portage and Main in race to mayor’s office Leading candidates staying away from 2018’s politically fraught debate over pedestrian barricades By: Malak Abas Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022

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The front-runner in the race to become Winnipeg’s next mayor publicly threw his support behind the push to reopen the city’s iconic downtown intersection to pedestrians four years ago.

But Glen Murray, who called the issue “the essential ingredient in the economic renewal of downtown” in a 2018 Free Press column, isn’t going anywhere near the divisive, politically dangerous concrete barriers at Portage and Main now.

Mayor Brian Bowman, who is not seeking a third term in the Oct. 26 civic election, was a key figure in the push to reopen the intersection to pedestrians, who were forced underground in 1979 in a controversial deal with the developers of Winnipeg Square.

Winnipeg voters rejected the idea of removing the barriers by a margin of nearly two to one in a plebiscite on the ballot in the 2018 civic election.

“The people have spoken about it once already,” Murray, who held a commanding lead among decided voters in polling last month, said in an email Tuesday.

“There was a planning process and a referendum of the public in the 2018 civic election, and we shouldn’t be second-guessing that. That’s where we’re starting from. And there are creative options available for all key parts of downtown that require comprehensive planning, proper community engagement, and a vision for the next chapter in our revitalization.”

Two-term St. James city councillor Scott Gillingham, who was a distant runner-up to Murray in the same September poll, opposed the plan four years ago and feels the same way now.

“I don’t support re-opening Portage and Main at this time. The question was asked during the last election and the result was very clear,” said Gillingham.

“It would be disrespectful to the public to ignore that and go in a different direction right now.”

“I don’t support re-opening Portage and Main at this time. The question was asked during the last election and the result was very clear.”–Scott Gillingham

However, social entrepreneur Shaun Loney, who is polling third in the race, said he wants to revisit the issue, but it’s not a matter of just taking down the barriers and putting up some crosswalk signals. The decision to open what has been called Canada’s windiest corner would have to be accompanied by significant improvements to the city’s transit system.

But in the end, the barriers have to come down “in order for us to have a downtown that’s really viable,” he said.

Loney offered a theory as to why the two candidates ahead of him are driving past the issue.

“I think both (Gillingham) and Glen Murray have come to their positions not because it’s the best thing for Winnipeg, but because they’re courting votes in the suburbs,” he said. “I don’t think we need people playing politics with the future of the city.”

And he’s not alone among the other mayoral hopefuls.

Rana Bokhari is promising to open the intersection, calling it an issue of accessibility for people with disabilities and an opportunity to bolster nearby businesses.

“The barriers are already coming down,” the former Manitoba Liberal leader said in a Sept. 26 press release. “According to engineering reports, the barriers are in the way of major repairs needed to the underground concourse. Once they are down, they will not go back up.”

The concrete blocks will, indeed, have to be removed in order to replace the decades-old deteriorated underground concourse roof membrane.

The question since 2018 has shifted from whether the city has the money to remove the barriers, to whether it will be worth spending the money to reinstall them, design architect Brent Bellamy said.

“I think a smart mayor would lay out the changes and wait for them to begin.”–Brent Bellamy

“I think a smart mayor would lay out the changes and wait for them to begin,” said Bellamy, a regular Free Press columnist. “Once the barricades start coming down to replace the roof membrane, that’s the time to start the discussion, in my mind, because it’s not going to happen before then anyways.”

No timeline has been announced yet for the repairs.

Bellamy said he isn’t surprised there hasn’t been a lot of discussion about the topic during the campaign.

“It was so toxic last time, and I think it’s a bit of a landmine, and it’s polarizing,” he said.

“And I think that candidates are wary — I would be, at least, if I was a candidate — be wary of bringing it back up, to be honest. Even though it is an issue that people think about, and there are candidates who were strongly for and strongly against at the time, I think right now, bringing it back up would sort of divert the conversation.”

“It was so toxic last time, and I think it’s a bit of a landmine, and it’s polarizing.”–Brent Bellamy

A lot has changed since 2018; since then, downtown’s central rapid transit station is being planned for Portage and Main, which has the potential to completely change how people use the intersection, Bellamy said.

Post-pandemic, Winnipeggers have seen downtown businesses struggle and may know they’ll have to think differently when approaching how to revive the area, he said.

“Council, and the candidates who have been paying attention, now understand that the future of Portage and Main is going to be different, whether we like it or not,” he said. “And that wasn’t really an issue at the time.”

Downtown’s Parlour Coffee called for the intersection to be opened in 2018, selling lawn signs with supportive slogans at the time. Parlour continues to support the idea, manager Sean Henderson said, calling it a good thing for businesses in the core area.

“I would definitely vote for a mayoral candidate who both supports making downtown more accessible for pedestrians, and less car-centric.”–Sean Henderson

“We find that we get quite a few tourists who are staying downtown, folks who are staying in the Fairmont (Hotel) right by Portage and Main who come in, and they’re extremely confused as to how to get around in the downtown here… they’ve never really seen an intersection where you have to go down underground to get back up,” he said.

“I would definitely vote for a mayoral candidate who both supports making downtown more accessible for pedestrians, and less car-centric,” he said.

“We need more people walking through, not just driving through.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca