The City of Portage la Prairie hired HTFC and MMM Group Ltd. to generate a conceptual urban design strategy for the downtown core, along Saskatchewan Avenue from 4th Street West to 5th Street East.
Public engagement was a priority throughout the process. The goal of this project was to create a vibrant destination accommodating pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic while enhancing the attractiveness of the core business area. This included creating an age-friendly, accessible streetscape; slowing down thoroughfare traffic; and enhancing the street through landscape planting, renewed site furnishings, and public art.
The plans and consultation process produced three redevelopment options. All options provide an accessible solution and have appropriated the maneuver lane for Active Transportation or pedestrian use as well as narrowed intersections that shorten pedestrian crossings across Saskatchewan Avenue.