Councillors push for public vote on Portage-Main reopening

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/06/2018 (2128 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Couns. Jeff Browaty and Janice Lukes want the public to have a say on the reopening of Portage and Main to pedestrians, by putting a question on the ballot in the October civic election.

Browaty and Lukes moved a notice of motion on Thursday that would require city council to vote on the issue at its July meeting.

If council approves, voters would be asked in a non-binding referendum if they support or oppose the reopening of the iconic Portage Avenue-Main Street intersection.

“A lot of people who voted for Brian Bowman (in 2014) are opposed to opening Portage and Main, and I count myself in that constituency,” Browaty told reporters. “On this particular matter, I think (Bowman) is on the wrong side.

“This is an opportunity to have a real debate on the matter and for the public to say which way they go and, hopefully, we never have to discuss it again.”

Bowman told reporters he campaigned in 2014 to reopen the intersection closed to pedestrians since 1979, and has worked towards that goal ever since.

Bowman would not say how he feels about a non-binding referendum on the October ballot, instead, he issued a challenge to Browaty to campaign against him for the mayor’s seat and let the voters decide that way.

Lukes said she’s puzzled as to how Bowman and the administration have handled the Portage and Main project, adding there’s been no effort by the mayor or the administration to consult the public.

“We’ve been doing public consultations on every major project but, for some reason, it’s not being done on Portage and Main,” Lukes said. “It would help people understand” the project.

Browaty said while a ballot question would not be binding, there would be pressure on politicians to heed the results.

Browaty said he thinks a simple 50-per-cent-plus-one vote should provide direction to the next council, adding he would be prepared to abide by the result.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca