Mole's-Eye-View of Beautiful Toronto

I visited Toronto briefly two weeks ago and met up with my friend, Elisa who then introduced me to her brother Helder and Husband David. We decided to meet up at the local Thai Restaurant we visited the last time I was in town but was disappointed that the premises were closed for renovation.

We soldiered on and decided to go to China Town instead but as we drove past a series of restaurants not far from where we originally stopped by, I spotted another Thai Restaurant and decided to check the place out and it turned out to be just as nice.

The time spent together with my friends was not long enough - really, I consider them to be my other family in Toronto.

I had to bring my dinner with my friends to a close to go back to their apartment to see their wonderful penthouse view overlooking the city in order to leave time to meet up with my relatives at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel where I was staying whilst in Toronto.

I have been to Toronto so many times before but mostly during the summer season. This time, as the weather was sub-zero, for the first time I went down under via the PATH Walkway which really impressed me. A 'City Underground' I could call it but really the tunnels were so wide and high that you would not even think you were underground.

PATH Walkway Major Attractions:

*Visitor Information Kiosks (southwest corner of Dundas and Yonge Street)
*Sky Dome
*CN Tower
*Metro Toronto Convention Centre
*Concert Halls: Roy Tomson Hall and Massey Hall
*Theatres:
Royal Alexandra Theatre, Princess of Wales Theatre, St Lawrence Centre, Hummingbird Centre,
Canon Theatre, Elgin/Wintergarden Theatres
*Hockey Hall of Fame
*Design Exchange
*City Hall
*Toronto Stock Exchange
*Downtown Yonge Stree
*Eaton Centre


PATH provides an important contribution to the economic viability of the city's downtown core. The system facilitates pedestrian linkages to public transit, accommodating more than 100,000 daily commuters, and thousands of additional tourists and residents on route to sports and cultural events. Its underground location provides pedestrians with a safe haven from the winter cold and snow, and the summer heat.

PATH facts:

According to Guinness World Records, PATH is the largest underground shopping complex with 27 km (16 miles) of shopping arcades. It has 371,600 sq. metres (4 million sq. ft) of retail space. In fact, the retail space connected to PATH rivals the West Edmonton Mall in size.

The approximate 1,200 shops and services, such as photocopy shops and shoe repairs, found in PATH, employ about 5,000 people. Once a year, businesses in PATH host the world's largest underground sidewalk sale.

More than 50 buildings/office towers are connected through PATH. Twenty parking garages, five subway stations, two major department stores, six major hotels, and a railway terminal are also accessible through PATH. It also provides links to some of Toronto's major tourist and entertainment attractions such as: the Hockey Hall of Fame, Roy Thomson Hall, Air Canada Centre, Rogers Centre, and the CN Tower. City Hall and Metro Hall are also connected through PATH.

There are more than 125 grade level access points and 60 decision points where a pedestrian has to decide between turning left or right, or continuing straight on. The average size of a connecting link is 20 metres (66 ft.) long by 6 metres (20 ft.) wide.

The building furthest north on the PATH network is the Toronto Coach Terminal at Dundas and Bay Streets. The building furthest south that can be accessed through PATH is the Toronto Convention Centre's Convention South Building. PATH does not follow the grid patterns of the streets above.

The first underground path in Toronto originated in 1900 when the T Eaton Co. joined its main store at 178 Yonge St. and its bargain annex by tunnels. By 1917 there were five tunnels in the downtown core. With the opening of Union Station in 1927, an underground tunnel was built to connect it to the Royal York Hotel (now known as the Fairmont Royal York). The real growth of PATH began in the 1970s when a tunnel was built to connect the Richmond-Adelaide and Sheraton Centres.

In 1987, City Council adopted the recommendation that the City become the co-ordinating agency of PATH and pay for the system-wide costs of designing a signage program.

In 1988, design firms Gottschalk, Ash International, and Keith Muller Ltd. were retained in by the City of Toronto to apply the design concept for PATH.

PATH's name and logo are registered to the City of Toronto. The City co-ordinates and facilitates the directional signage, maps and identity markers throughout the system.

Each segment of the walkway system is owned and controlled by the owner of the property through which it runs. There are about 35 corporations involved.

In the early 1990s, signage for PATH was developed to provide pedestrians with better ease of use and functionality. The signage enhances PATH's visibility and identity, ultimately increasing its use, attracting more people to downtown Toronto, and drawing more businesses there.

Each letter in PATH is a different colour, each representing a direction. The P is red and represents south. The orange A directs pedestrians to the west, while the blue T directs them to the north. The H is yellow and points to the east.

The PATH Walkway is a wheelchair accessible; where there is no access, alternate routes are clearly marked.

Signage includes a symbol for people with disabilities whenever there is a flight of stairs ahead.

For more info about Canada please click

Canada Facts

Take care and hope this gives you a moles-eye-view of Toronto underground.

Alan Aldana