Winnipeg mayoral candidate resurrects pledge to open Portage and Main
A Winnipeg mayoral candidate is pledging to bring down the barriers at Portage and Main, despite the results of a plebiscite held on the issue four years ago.
Rana Bokhari said it's about improving accessibility across the city.
If she's elected mayor, Bokhari vowed the concrete barriers at the iconic intersection will be removed permanently.
"Once they're gone, they're not coming back up,” Bokhari said in an interview Monday. “It is a human rights issue. It is an accessibility issue."
The barriers have to be removed anyway to complete repairs to key infrastructure under the intersection, Bokhari said. She added she’s in favour of opening the intersection to pedestrians but only after a bigger discussion takes places to make decisions on crossings, bike lanes and where they should be located.
It has long been considered a historic and iconic intersection, one with concrete barriers at its corners, blocking people using sidewalks from crossing the busy roadway.
Vehicles can travel at surface level but pedestrians are forced to walk underground or detour to nearby crossings to get to the other side of the street.
John Sillers uses a walker and often takes the bus from his Winnipeg home to run errands downtown.
While he'd like the intersection opened to pedestrians, Sillers expressed concern about crossing the street due to heavy traffic flows.
"The street is too long,” he said. “You can't walk across it and you're not going to make it on time."
Bokhari’s promise is similar to one made by outgoing Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman before 65 per cent of people voted in the last election to keep the intersection closed to pedestrians in a non-binding plebiscite.
CTV News Winnipeg reached out via email to seven of the 11 other mayoral candidates who polled at or above the three per cent support Bokhari received in the latest Probe Research poll to see where they stand on the issue.
Rick Shone said he was a proponent of opening the intersection in 2018 and still supports the idea.
Kevin Klein said the intersection will have to be ripped up to fix a waterproof membrane under Portage and Main and that it may be less expensive not to replace the barriers. He's open to examining a pedestrian crossing at the intersection.
Candidate Scott Gillingham said in a statement he doesn't support reopening Portage and Main at this time, adding the result of the plebiscite was very clear during the last election and that it would be disrespectful to ignore that and go in a different direction.
Jenny Motkaluk, who ran against Bowman in 2018, said the issue was resolved by the city-wide referendum when she said Winnipeggers voted overwhelmingly to keep the intersection as is.
Shaun Loney is in favour of opening the intersection to pedestrians.
Glen Murray said the people spoke on the issue once already and we shouldn't be second-guessing that.
Sillers thinks it's worth another look.
"If you're walking down the street here, you can't get across,” he said. “You're going way around."
Robert-Falcon Ouellette did not respond by deadline.
Don Woodstock, Idris Adelakun and Chris Clacio are also running for mayor.
The municipal election is Oct. 26.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.