City hits brakes on Portage and Main contract

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This article was published 03/08/2018 (2405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Move over Confusion Corner, there’s another Winnipeg intersection that has folks scratching their heads.

Confusion over plans for the future of Portage Avenue and Main Street was swirling Friday, after the City of Winnipeg appeared to have sent out mixed messaging on what is planned for the iconic intersection in the near future.

Mayor Brian Bowman told reporters Friday afternoon there were no plans to award a contract on the redesign of Portage and Main before Winnipeggers have a chance to vote on the matter in the coming municipal election.

His comments came in direct contrast to a report on the front page of the Winnipeg Sun, which quoted David Driedger, the city’s manager of corporate communications, saying the contract would be awarded before Winnipeggers vote Oct. 24.

Bowman disputed the account, saying he was told by the public service there were no plans to award the contract before the election.

“I learned this week that the award was forthcoming and have reached out to the public service. They indicated they are putting it on hold until after the plebiscite. I support that effort and I think it makes sense,” Bowman said.

A few hours later, in an email to the Free Press, Jeremy Davis, the mayor’s press secretary, clarified the timeline on when the mayor learned awarding the contract was on hold.

“(Bowman) found out this week about the plans to award the (request for proposal) in the coming weeks, and after reaching out to the public service today, learned about their decision to put it on hold,” Davis said.

That seems to indicate plans to move forward on awarding the contract before the election were in the works, but the public service recently decided to change course.

The repeated miscommunication can be traced to Oct. 25, 2017, when city council approved $1.5 million in funding for two separate contracts for the Portage and Main intersection.

The first is for an assessment and review of the underground concourse, which needs to be done whether or not the intersection is reopened to pedestrians. The city has confirmed that contract will move ahead as planned.

The second, meanwhile, would result in a consulting firm being hired to work on the revitalization and redesign of the intersection by producing plans for the removal of the barriers and “Phase 1 construction.”

It would only make sense to award the second contract if reopening the intersection was a foregone conclusion.

Portage and Main has been closed to pedestrian traffic since 1979, with people instead directed to the underground pathway system.

On July 19, city council voted 14-1 in favour of a motion — spearheaded by Couns. Jeff Browaty and Janice Lukes — to add a question on the reopening of Portage and Main on the ballot this October. Bowman subsequently said he will respect the outcome of the non-binding plebiscite.

On Friday morning, the reports that the city was planning to award the consulting-firm contract prior to the municipal election kicked off a flurry of short-lived controversy.

Browaty (North Kildonan) and mayoral candidate Jenny Motkaluk were quick to criticize Bowman.

Motkaluk said it was clear evidence Bowman was committed to reopening the intersection, regardless of the outcome of the coming vote on the matter. Browaty told the Free Press the news was “pretty crazy,” adding it was “unfathomable” for the city to “steamroll ahead” on plans before Winipeggers got their say.

The mayor fired back in the afternoon, telling reporters Browaty would have been better served asking the public service about the issue, rather than speaking to the press in an effort to “get some headlines.”

“I think just picking up the phone and speaking with the public service perhaps may have been better to find out what the status of it is,” the mayor said.

“Coun. Lukes and Coun. Browaty brought forth the plebiscite. It’s disappointing that they didn’t think through, or maybe do some research, on what the implications of their plebiscite would mean.”

Late Friday afternoon, Driedger sent an email to the Free Press confirming the contract on the redesign of Portage and Main would not be awarded any time soon.

“It was anticipated the public service would award (both contracts) before the municipal election. However, upon further consideration, the public service will hold (the redesign contract) in abeyance pending further direction from council following the Portage and Main plebiscite,” Driedger wrote via email.

Tom Brodbeck, the Winnipeg Sun columnist who wrote the article that kicked off Friday’s minor circus, tweeted out screen shots of emails sent by Driedger on Wednesday and Thursday, stating the city planned to award the second contract before the election.

Driedger offered no explanation for the change in statements.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @rk_thorpe