Someone redesigned Toronto's PATH and it makes way more sense now

Stretching over 30 kilometres, Toronto's massive underground pedestrian network, known as the PATH, can feel like a city itself and, like any city, it can be tricky to navigate without easy-to-read maps and signage. 

One Toronto resident decided that enough was enough and created a complete redesign of the wayfinding scheme for the city's famously confusing network of pedestrian walkways.  

Shane Gates, a recent University of Toronto graduate in human geography and urban planning, shared his vision on Reddit, which was met with a ton of applause from the community. 

Gates tells blogTO that he uses the PATH almost every day, and has paid close attention to its wayfinding and how people interact with the system. The City of Toronto maintains all the current maps and wayfinding markers, though Gates argues that the current PATH wayfinding plan only leaves people feeling confused.

"I always see tourists, or even residents, stare at the current spaghetti-like map, give up, then go back upstairs," he says. "During the Taylor Swift concerts, I watched a group of girls decide after seeing the map at Union Station to just book an Uber to the Sheraton Hotel for what would have been a ten-minute walk had the map just been slightly clearer."

While some long-term residents know how to navigate the PATH between destinations like Union Station and the Eaton Centre without ever setting foot outside (a welcome option with Toronto weather), others struggle to conquer the labyrinth of passages. What else explains the steady stream of navigational guide videos posted on YouTube and TikTok over the years?

What began in the early 1900s as a single underground path linking two office buildings has grown over decades into one of the largest pedestrian networks in the world. Today, the PATH spans 3.7 million square feet of retail space, with roughly 1,200 restaurants, shops and businesses, connecting more than 75 buildings and six subway stations.

What Gates appreciates the most about the PATH is its interconnectedness. 

"I call it part of our public transit network despite it not being public nor transit, because for those that know how to use it, it is a valuable tool at easing capacity on our sidewalks, our subway, and even our roads," he says. 

The 23-year-old graduate spent about a month redesigning the PATH map, debating what information belonged on the map and what would only add to the clutter.

"What kept me interested in the project was the combination of ideas that are proven to work in other cases," he says, pointing to the coloured floor lines at Toronto General Hospital that guide visitors through the complex building. He believes floor decals running throughout the PATH would give people a clearer route to follow when navigating the underground maze. 

He says he specifically drew inspiration from the Tokyo Metro, where stations are identified by both colours and numbers, making navigation easier for those unfamiliar with the territory.

"Numbering each building (represented by a 'station') and having a separate directory gives a neat alternative to the original map, which tries to display the name of every single building," he says. "At Union Station, someone going to the Eaton Centre will see it is located at Red-20, Pink-13, or Green-12, and just follow one of those lines on the ground to either the 20th, 13th, or 12th building, respectively."

Gates' redesign seems to have struck a chord on Reddit, where users praised it as "impressive," "extremely well considered," and "a huge improvement."

"It feels very affirming to see a positive reaction to the map," Gates shares. "Reddit is great for getting eyes on something and getting mass feedback from outside of my usual bubbles. I was able to make some changes to the map and crowdsource ideas for what it could look like in reality."

While Gates shows a lot of love for the city he lives in, he admits Toronto is often "lulled into a status quo" with no will or thought on improving existing systems such as the PATH. 

"It is baffling that we have this set of infrastructure that many refuse to use because it has the deserved reputation of being labyrinthian," Gates says. 

So, now it's only time to see if anyone at City Hall stumbles upon his designs online and sees the value in his work. 

"Maybe this idea will spark some change, who knows? I certainly hope so."