Toronto was just ranked the hardest city to navigate in the entire world
Getting around Toronto can be a real headache even for locals accustomed to our traffic and transit woes, but apparently, the city's grid-like layout, ample signage, and friendly locals willing to give directions somehow add up to make the 6ix the world's hardest city to navigate.
It's a confusing #1 rank with no context, but Toronto's dismal placing is based on hard evidence compiled by travel site Next Vacay, which weighed factors such as Google Maps searches for directions as well as mobile download speed, walkability score, average taxi fares and transportation options.
- Toronto
- London
- Mexico City
- New York
- Paris
- São Paulo
- Madrid
- Hong Kong
"Approximately 3.9 million people search for directions in Toronto every month," stated Next Vacay in a report, adding that "while driving in the city isn't terrible, it's incredibly challenging."
"As a boomtown, there's always new construction happening everywhere, so if you're driving around the downtown area, you can expect traffic disruptions, congestion, and road closures that could suddenly change your route and potentially get you lost."
The website admits that "the city is perhaps best explored on foot," but then throws in the debatable suggestion to take "advantage of one of North America's finest public transportation systems."
Toronto also lost important marks in the walkability department. While the city's downtown is indeed hospitable to walking, the incorporated auto-oriented suburbs help to drag us down to a 61/100 walkability score.
Toronto somehow came out above (and not in a good way) cities with famously jumbled road networks including Mexico and São Paulo, and Hong Kong with its tightly-clustered urban chaos.
Still, it's not really surprising to see Toronto outrank New York, where the streets are literally numbered, and you're never too far from one of the city's 472 subway stations compared to just 75 stations in Toronto.
