Toronto’s downtown core feels eerily quiet during the winter months as many residents and workers retreat into the PATH, a sprawling 30-kilometer network of underground pedestrian walkways.
A City Beneath the City
On a wintry Wednesday afternoon, the streets of Toronto’s Financial District appeared largely abandoned. Snow flurries swirled in the poor visibility and a 7F (-14C) windchill made braving the elements unpleasant for the few pedestrians on Adelaide Street West.
First-time visitors might mistake Canada’s largest city – and the fourth largest in North America – for an abandoned concrete jungle, but beneath the surface lies a bustling network of shops, restaurants, residences, and office towers.
Many Torontonians who live and work in the heart of Canada’s finance industry spend their days within the PATH, leading some to jokingly refer to them as “gnomes,” “gophers,” or “mole people.”
A Weather-Protected Urban Core
In the Financial District, finance workers often forgo traditional winter attire, opting for puffer and fleece vests, bare-footed slingbacks, and sleeveless tops.
“The PATH isn’t just underground shopping. It’s a part of how downtown Toronto works every day,” explains Amy Harrell, executive director of the Toronto Financial District Business Improvement Area. “It’s a weather-protected city within a city that connects people who work, travel, eat and explore downtown Toronto.”
Toronto is one of several Canadian cities with built-in, climate-controlled infrastructure to protect pedestrians from harsh weather. Montreal’s RÉSO, Edmonton Pedway, Winnipeg Skywalk, and Calgary’s Plus 15 network are similar systems.
Navigating the Labyrinth
The PATH’s wayfinding system is notoriously confusing, even for those who frequent it. A digital ad from a major Canadian bank jokes, “If you can get lunch down here and not get lost, you can direct invest.”
Toronto’s first underground path was built in 1900 by the T. Eaton Co. to connect its main store to its bargain annex building. A tunnel linking Union Station to the Royal York Hotel was also built to separate elite guests from the public.
Jadiel Teófilo, a software engineer who moved to Toronto from Brazil three years ago, found the PATH made adjusting to the Canadian winter relatively smooth. He commutes from his apartment near Scotiabank Arena to his job in Scotia Plaza entirely through the PATH, often wearing just a light raincoat, a T-shirt, and sneakers.
Teófilo also uses the PATH for grocery shopping, pharmacy visits, and even physiotherapy.
A Changing Landscape
While the PATH was once considered the world’s largest underground shopping complex, Montreal’s RÉSO network surpassed it in size in November 2023, reaching 32 kilometers in length.
Despite losing the title, Toronto’s PATH is experiencing a revival, with 60 new businesses and amenities opening in the last 18 months, including pilates studios, indoor golf simulators, and art event spaces.
Adam Chen hosts free weekly walks through the PATH, called Happy Town walks, to provide a warm, dry, and social space for people during the winter. Participants are encouraged to connect and converse, with a rule against discussing work.
“The winter is pretty tough for a lot of people downtown,” Chen says. “There’s a vacuum of connection and people can feel isolated. This is a time when people need to congregate the most and probably the best place for that right now, which is filled with empty spaces where people can sit and connect, is the PATH.”
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