Quote:
Originally Posted by Biff
Why wouldn't you invert the proposed elevated roadway? Keep the roads at grade like it is now and have a pedestrian and town square type overpass overhead. You could still have the cool red cable stay arches, have fancy pedestrian on-ramps and stairs and a huge intersection covering plaza.
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I will argue this till I am red in the face but PnM should not be open to pedestrains. Most here are looking at this area from a ped perspective and not from a motorist perspective which is the majority which use this intersection.
Points to look at-
In the here and now:
UGLY
Walking under the road is not user friendly
In the Future ( idea's ) that will not cost the broke city mega millions are:
Redo the ugly concrete barriers, but still make it safe for people to use the corners, as I would not want to see any car or trucks losing control which they do all the time here and hit anything other then concrete.
Now the entrances to WPG Square, are POOR at the best. They need to redo all of them, make them very transparent, GLASS needs to be used on the OUTDOOR ones to make them stand out, good lighting is essential for safety and for people to see that they can get under the road. Also signage, And I would got the LED way since that is what we are getting into these days. Make it look inviting and not like a concrete bunker for a war and people will use it more, this will also bring people to the lower lvl like intended and bring more business and maybe even expand.
We all have to remember this is a HUGE intersection and the little islands that people would have to stay on if they did not make it across are for maybe one person, and there is no way to make them larger. This is not the 1950's anymore, this is a city of cars and double the population and growing. Safety is my main reason for not opening this intersection. And after that it is the simple fact no one even really crosses the other intersections that are near by for the simple fact one side is all offices. And in winter this is not an ideal corner to stand at. I know when I worked downtown I loved the fact I could walk under the road in a heated place, grab a bite to eat etc.
Some may argue ( well it works in other cities ) actually not many cities have the wind tunnels affect we do and nor do they have a massive intersection to cross.
I do not want to see Skywalks either, IMO the ones that cross portage now look ugly, even if they were updated, they ruin the skyline period, Imagine this at the city center!!!
Our ancestors who had the vision long ago to put a subway in were on the right track, but that is not feasable anymore unless Winnipeg is sitting on oil, which it is not.
And one of the other facts is Winnipeg people as in many young people are not inclined to walk outside, we are become a city of sucks tbh. When I was a kid some 40 years ago, people loved winter and did not complain, now everyone complains. Other solutions need to be looked at that are feasable in costs and are attractive. I gave my one idea earlier and I simply got that idea at seeing some place in BC and TO that have the same idea. Even Vancouver has underground walkways. And they work.
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