Can Winnipeggers Scramble, Too ?

Zuken leads protesters across Portage and Main, 1979 (Source)

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the opening of the underground concourse that saw Portage and Main shielded behind concrete barriers.

A famous past-time of Winnipeggers is to engage in the debate over whether we should ever open the intersection again, (or prior to the 2018 expiry of the concourse deal). Proponents argue that it's an intersection - people should be allowed to cross. Opponents say that, well, this is Winnipeg - of course we can't open it: think of the chaos, the confusion, the inhumanity.

Many cities in the world are able to manage pedestrians at intersections much larger than Portage and Main. One of the ways in which they do so is through the "Barnes' Dance" at scramble intersections.

The most famous is probably Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, reputed to be one of the busiest intersections in the world as each day 2.5 to 3 million pedestrians come and go from the adjacent subway station. (An interesting aside, they are experimenting with capturing the foot power of those people to provide electricity for some of the station's lighting).

It was announced earlier this year that Oxford Circus in London will undergo upgrades to make it a scramble crossing as well. The subway station there handles about 250,000 people per day.

Closer to home, Toronto has experimented with a scramble intersection at Yonge and Dundas which sees 100,000 pedestrians crossing per day. They found that trade didn't stop, mass carnage did not ensue, and this week Toronto's experiment will expand to include Yonge and Bloor . Other intersections could be added in future.

Winnipeg came the closest it ever has to opening Portage and Main back in 2007. As per the legal agreement signed at the outset of the concourse's construction, all property owners, (there are now 6), at the intersection must agree. The only hold-out at the time was Oxford Developments.