Downtown BIZ director unfazed by delay opening Portage and Main

Despite the wishes of Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman, Portage Avenue and Main Street will not be open to pedestrians by July 2017.

Bowman has previously said he wanted the intersection open before the Canada Summer Games come to the city, but that plan was absent from the City of Winnipeg's operating budget, which was tabled Tuesday.

• Mayor wants Portage and Main open before Canada Summer Games

The Downtown BIZ has been a strong advocate for opening the intersection to foot traffic, but executive director Stefano Grande said he's not discouraged by the latest news.

He said he believes the process remains a priority for the mayor, but that he acknowledges it's complicated.

"We'd be discouraged if that priority was absent, and the fact that he talks about it and believes it is a priority is really critical," he said. "The opening [in time for] the summer games may not happen, but that conversation is going to continue."

Bowman campaigned on a promise to reopen the intersection, but on Tuesday, he said the summer 2017 plan would be "premature" as the city is still working with property owners to figure out how the pedestrian barricades could come down.

The move is part of a larger strategy to pause spending on new, major infrastructure projects while the city tries to deal with its crumbling roads.

The barricades have been in place since 1979, and Grande said it needs to be opened to accommodate an influx of people living downtown.

"There will be hundreds more people living in that immediate area, never mind The Forks and the Parcel 4 redevelopment," he said. "A successful downtown is one that's extremely walkable and one where pedestrians are a greater priority than vehicles, like in any other neighbourhood in the city."

Grande said he would've liked to have had the intersection open last summer when FIFA games were played in the city and the Liberal convention was held downtown.

Still, Grande said, "We're optimistic that it will happen and we're very much in support of the mayor continuing to move that ball forward," he said. "The time will come."

Talks to open the area are expected to continue. So far, no estimates on the amount the project would cost the city have been released.