CBC Radio tackles future of Portage and Main live on location

Later this year a report on removing the pedestrian barricades at Portage and Main will go to Winnipeg city council.

Ever since the 1970s, when the intersection was closed to foot traffic, there's been a hot debate about access.

Is Portage and Main a thoroughfare for cars and trucks — or is it a public square and meeting place? Can it be both?

One woman who works above Portage and Main told CBC if the corner was open to people on foot it could change the whole feeling of downtown.

"The more traffic that you have downtown the safer people feel and I think that's something Winnipeg needs right now," she said.

Another employee who works near the intersection disagrees.

"I see too many people almost getting hit by cars walking across it as it is," he said.

Will opening the corner put people at risk? Will it slow car traffic to a halt?

• Winnipeggers still want Portage & Main pedestrians, traffic separated
• Don't open Portage and Main to pedestrians, Winnipeg CAA members say