Winnipeg Free Press

Based on discussions with Portage and Main property owners in 2006, Winnipeg's Corbett Cibinel Architects and Toronto's Janet Rosenberg + Associates came up with the idea of re-opening the intersection to foot traffic on weekday evenings and weekends. The idea is to make downtown Winnipeg feel safer by increasing the presence of pedestrians without adversely affecting businesses in the underground concourse. A series of upright posts called bollards would replace the existing concrete barriers at Portage and Main, retaining a physical barrier between sidewalks and streets but creating less of a visual barrier. Gates at pedestrian crossings would be open or closed, depending on the time of day.