PATH (Toronto)

PATH refers to a network of underground pedestrian tunnels beneath downtown Toronto.

The 27 kilometer long and 371 600 square-foot tunnel system is one of the largest underground cities in the world.

PATH extends north to the bus station on Dundas Street and Bay Street, south to the Toronto Convention Centre. Its main axes parallel to Yonge Street and Bay Street. About 50 buildings are connected to this system, including the Hockey Hall of Fame, Roy Thomson Hall, Air Canada Centre, Rogers Centre, CN Tower and City Hall.

History

The tunnel system dates back to 1900, when the society of the Eaton department store under the James Street a tunnel built that allowed customers to move from the main shop at Yonge and Queen Street to the branch behind the Town Hall. This first pedestrian tunnel is contained original, but now part of the Eaton Centre. 1927 they built an underground connection between Union Station and the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. In the 1960s and 1970s, the systematic expansion of the underground city and the access to many shops began. At present ( 2007) are connected around 1,200 shops in the PATH.

In 1987, an orientation to a system that points the way to pedestrians (English path). This included the introduction of signs which oriented to the cardinal directions. Here we used the four differently colored letter P (red) for the South, A ( orange) for the west, T ( blue) for the north and H ( yellow) for East, which one anbrachte on the ceiling of selected nodes.

Presence

In a long-term planning 45 new " entry points " for the underground city and an extension of the tunnel system at 60 km are provided.