Portage and Main 'yes' campaign seeks to amass $100K marketing kitty

The group campaigning to reopen Portage and Main to pedestrians hopes to raise $100,000 to get their message out,.

Team Open has launched a fundraising campaign to pay for advertising and direct mail to help persuade Winnipeggers to vote in favour of reopening the intersection in a non-binding plebiscite this fall.

The Portage and Main question will be added to the Oct. 24 election ballot. Incumbent Mayor Brian Bowman and challenger Jenny Motkaluk have pledged to honour the result.

There are no rules limiting how much money can be raised and spent by the competing campaigns, provided all advertising is limited to the issue in question and does not mention any specific candidate.

North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty, who opposes reopening the intersection, says he has no concerns with the Yes campaign's fundraising target.

He says he's not surprised the Yes side needs to raise a lot of money because he does not believe a majority of Winnipeggers supports reopening the intersection.

Yes campaign volunteer Adam Dooley says a marketing campaign is necessary to counter misinformation about the intersection.

He noted the city estimates it will cost $5 million, not including bus purchases, to reopen Portage and Main to pedestrians.

"I think that we're all a little bit disappointed that we have to do this," Dooley said of the referendum campaign.

"Let's be honest, it's crazy that we're having a plebiscite over such a small infrastructure project. This is tiny compared to the Waverley underpass. It's minuscule compared to the Arlington Bridge, which will cost $330 million."

The Waverley underpass is under construction at a projected cost of $121 million. The Arlington Bridge replacement has not yet been approved by council, which did approve up to $3.5 million last year to fix infrastructure at Portage and Main and design a reopened intersection.

The design work is on hold.