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The Eaton Centre - Union trip even has multiple different ways of doing it, I usually do it through Brookfield place, Commerce Court, Scotiaplaza, Bay Adelaide, and finally The Bay before getting there.
 
Or the old way (pre-north/south connections from Scotia to Bay Adelaide and Commerce Court) Royal Bank Plaza to TD Centre to First Canadian to Richmond Adelaide to Sheraton to Bay to Eaton Centre.

Before Scotia and Commerce Court were connected the Metropass facilitated a lot of trips between Commerce Court and Scotia, via the King Station.
 
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Seconded you can barely tell that is Toronto! I'd love to see one of those front page "throw back thursday" posts of this angle in like '05 haha
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I have pictures from the top of the York Street Parking Garage from before most of this area was built. Will find them for a future TBT.
 
salsa said:
Recently I was with a group of friends, and we wanted to walk from Union subway station to Eaton Centre... So I lead them into the PATH, and almost immediately I couldn't figure out where to go next. Signs were either useless or nonexistent.
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The tricky spot is probably around FCP to the Scotiabank building, but this trip is a lot straighter and simpler than it once was, now that Bay-Adelaide is open. It will probably never work as well to the south, with the need to go up and down levels and the out of the way unmarked staircase access through the Air Canada Centre.
 
I don't use the PATH much anymore but after working in an office building connected to the PATH for 4 months in 2008, I can still navigate it with my eyes closed. When I'm leading friends through the PATH, they always comment that I seem to know where I'm going without even looking at anything. It's not that difficult once you get to know it.
 
LNahid2000 said:
It's not that difficult once you get to know it.
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That's the issue, though. For visitors/tourists/people new to the PATH, it is very confusing. I am skeptical, though, that even a really good wayfinding system would make something as sprawling and organically developed as the PATH easy to navigate for first-time users.
 
modernizt said:
That's the issue, though. For visitors/tourists/people new to the PATH, it is very confusing. I am skeptical, though, that even a really good wayfinding system would make something as sprawling and organically developed as the PATH easy to navigate for first-time users.
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The PATH isn't really made for tourists though, and streets in general are pretty confusing when going to a new city. Its primary purpose is for 9 to 5 office workers, who all know it very well.
 
It's like any city that has grown haphazardly: you need way-finding aids to get around, you know, like a map of some kind, or signposts. They have both in the system, but not everywhere, and you have to look for them.

Does Google Maps work down there on smartphones? I haven't checked.

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interchange42 said:
Does Google Maps work down there on smartphones? I haven't checked.

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Service is really spotty in the PATH and accessing Google Maps is hit and miss. It really depends on how far underground you are and what is above.
 
Yeah, I pretty much find that under most buildings service is pretty good, but when it comes to the tunnel transitions between buildings (and under roads) I will sometimes have trouble.
 
chriskayTO said:
Wait, there was a period after Scotia Plaza was constructed where it wasn't connected to Commerce Court?
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Yes - it went on for quite a while. The Scotia Plaza developer, Campeau Corporation, went bankrupt during the latter stages of construction, and while the building got finished (possibly because of building specific construction financing already being in place), there was no money to fund the Scotia Plaza share of the underground connection's costs. From what I recall, I believe that Commerce Court ended up doing the connection on its own.
 
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What an interesting tidbit of PATH/Toronto history. Thanks for sharing.

Around when was the connection completed? And was there similar impact on the connection to FCP?
 
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