Path (Toronto)

Toronto's first public pedestrian tunnel under construction c. 1900. The tunnels connected the buildings of the Eaton's Annex.

In 1900, the Eaton's department store constructed a tunnel underneath James Street, allowing shoppers to walk between the Eaton's main store at Yonge and Queen streets and the Eaton's Annex located behind the (then) City Hall. It was the first underground pedestrian pathway in Toronto and is often credited as a historic precursor to the current Path network. The original Eaton's tunnel is still in use as part of the Path system, although today it connects Toronto Eaton Centre to the Bell Trinity Square office complex on the site of the former Annex building.

Another original underground linkage, built in 1927 to connect Union Station and the Royal York Hotel, remained an integral part of the Path network for many years until it was replaced by a newer connection between the Royal York Hotel and Royal Bank Plaza, which continues onward to Union Station.[2]

Longo's market situated in the Path system. The utilization of the tunnel network as retail space began in the mid-20th century.

The network of underground walkways expanded under city planner Matthew Lawson in the 1960s. Toronto's downtown sidewalks were overcrowded, and new office towers were removing the much-needed small businesses from the streets. Lawson thus convinced several important developers to construct underground malls, pledging that they would eventually be linked. The designers of the Toronto-Dominion Centre, the first of Toronto's major urban developments in the 1960s (completed in 1967), were the first to include underground shopping in their complex, with the possibility of future expansion built in. The city originally helped fund the construction, but with the election of a reform city council, this practice ended. The reformers disliked the underground system, agreeing with Jane Jacobs's notion that an active street life was important in keeping cities and neighbourhoods vital and that consumers should be encouraged to shop on street level stores rather than in malls (whether they be above ground or below); however, the system continued to grow, as developers bowed to their tenants' wishes and connected their buildings to the system. This also converted low-valued basements into some of the most valuable retail space in the country.

The next expansion of the network occurred in the early 1970s with the construction and underground connection of the Richmond-Adelaide Centre office tower with the Sheraton Centre hotel complex.

Work on new Path tunnels at Union Station, 2014

Construction of the Path tunnel north from Scotia Plaza through the Bay Adelaide Centre started in the fourth quarter of 2007. Completion of this section closed the last remaining gap in the north–south route through Path that parallels Yonge Street, thus eliminating the need to double back from Bay Street to get between buildings located on the eastern edge of Path.

In 2011, the City of Toronto released a long-term expansion plan for the Path network, developed by Urban Strategies Inc.[4][5] As part of the expansion plan, there will be 45 new entry points, and the walkway expanded to as long as 60 kilometres (37 mi) when changes are completed.[6]

In August 2014, a major southward expansion of the Path network brought it closer to the Toronto waterfront, with the opening of a covered pedestrian bridge connecting Scotiabank Arena south to RBC WaterPark Place on Queens Quay (crossing the Lake Shore Boulevard / Gardiner Expressway corridor and Harbour Street).[7]

The city of Toronto constructed a 300-metre (980 ft), $65-million tunnel connecting Union Station to Wellington Street, the first publicly owned segment of the 370,000-square-metre (4,000,000 sq ft) Path subterranean shopping district. Toronto planners have begun work to guide future Path development and ensure Path link construction is included in basement levels of key new buildings.[8]

The network was particularly hard-hit during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, with Bloomberg News calling the area a "ghost town". The pedestrian system's narrow halls in some locations were noted as a particular challenge, even once downtown employees returned to the office. The Toronto Financial District Business Improvement Area has planned various movement modifications to the space for future use.[9]

In early November 2020, a connection was opened between the Maple Leaf Square complex (via the basement-level Longo's supermarket) and ÏCE Condominiums at York Centre.[10] On December 5, 2020, the new Union Station Bus Terminal was opened within the new CIBC Square complex and connected via a skywalk to the Scotiabank Arena.[11]

Directional signage for Path. Signs use a colour-coded system, with different colours representing different cardinal directions.

In 1987, City Council adopted a unified wayfinding system throughout the network. The design firms Gottschalk+Ash International and Muller Design Associates were hired to design and implement the overall system in consultation with a diverse group of land owners, City staff and stakeholders. A colour-coded system with directional cues was deployed in the early 1990s. Within the various buildings, pedestrians can find a Path system map, plus cardinal directions (P (red) for south, A (orange) for west, T (blue) for north, H (yellow) for east) on ceiling signs at selected junctions.

The signage can be hard to find inside some of the various connected buildings. Building owners concerned about losing customers to neighbouring buildings insisted any signage not dominate their buildings or their own signage system. The city relented and the result is the current system. Many complain the system is hard to navigate.[14]