Union Station: Northwest PATH Expansion

[CanadianNational]

Maybe some live/work clusters or actual residential areas that are skylit and/or atria-centric would liven things up. It would be something to be walking past or through sections of unexpectedly alive, sudden new small neighbourhoods. We've advanced technologies and codes to allow us to build up - why not down a bit? It's not as if street access, fresh (city) air and sunlight would be compromised. Within certain limits, it might also be easier to heat, cool, and maintain than building our usual way.

 

[ShonTron]

Another bit to watch attached to BA: PATH through The Bay. If that Bay store ever gets either upgraded, or cut up a bit, a new spectacular bit could be a three storey section engineered into the store between the Eaton Centre connections 1 floor below ground and 1 above, and the BA connections. A three storey high galleria through there will some attempt to incorporate restored details from the century old store could make for a grand statement.

When The Chicken Wings of Fashion (my translation of "Les Ailes de la Mode") took over the Eaton's downtown Montreal, much of it was carved out into a separate, spectacular looking, mall. If the Bay needed to trim some space, I would love to see this Galleria opened to bring back some glory to the dowdy interior of the store, carved stores on one side, the Bay on the other.

PATH feels like a Flintstones cartoon background sometimes: Shoppers Drug Mart, Grand and Toy, women's clothes store, bank machine, Starbucks, repeat.

RESO works for the reason I said - it links several smaller Eaton Centres together into one mall, while the destination shopping in PATH is almost entirely in Eaton Centre.

The only thing RESO has going for itself is that it actually makes connections between a a series of good shopping complexes that are actually open weekends - Halles de la Cathedrale/La Baie, Place Montreal Trust, Simons, Alliance Industrialle, Centre Eaton, Cours Mont-Royal. PATH links the Eaton Centre/Bay (basically the equivalent of all these smaller shopping centres in Montreal in one larger complex) with the office tower weekday retail.

And at the risk of turning this into another shopping-tangent, I got a lot of good deals shopping the malls connected by RESO Sunday, from Chicken Wings to Simons.

 

[grey]

Perhaps what is needed for PATH to become more attractive is to market it as one of Toronto's neighbourhoods (if you can really call it one). Toronto prides itself in neighbourhoods above ground, so why not apply it to the underground as well. Maybe PATH vendors should establish a BIA or something.

Imagine all the events a PATH BIA might be able to do... Taste of the PATH, Doors Open PATH tours, Cavalcade of Lights in the PATH, PATH parades, etc.

Architecturally, a couple of stunning atria in buildings connecting PATH with street levels and a few floors above is a really great idea.

There are already things like sidewalk sales and charitable clothing drops every so often. I think they should hold easter egg hunts, or something.

 

[Urban Shocker]

The only thing that could liven up the reputation of PATH, other than locating a cluster of new cultural centres such as a Museum of Toronto and an AGO/ROM extension down there, is a riot, or a sarin gas attack, or the discovery of the skeletal remains of some long-lost family of tourists from the American Midwest at the bottom of a stairwell in the lowest level of a parking garage somewhere in the system. I'm with adma - the pedestrian underground reflects understated Toronto Style, even down to the politely understated signage system; it's there, it works well, and we don't shout about it.

 

[ProjectEnd]

Shocker, hows this for urban mayhem...

Scary Skateboarders Strike Silent 'Sub'-Urban (as in under, not around) Shopping Space with Succor

Additionally

 

[Urban Shocker]

That's Toronto Style mayhem, for sure. But to really make us world class it would have to be more Mississauga Derailment mayhem in scale.

 

[grey]

Or something like this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/09/wcanal109.xml

 

[JasonParis]

Wow, that's crazy.

 

[GregWTravels]

I think the PATH would be a tourist draw for many even if the aisles were bare concrete walls. The idea of a vast, continuous network of underground pathways is alluring

Heck, I spent some good amount of Euros on walking through the dingy, musty and wet catacombs in France which included a large number of skulls and other bones aligning the walls.

Maybe that's what the path needs. They should stack up some bones to really drag in the tourists.

 

[adma]

Or just cover everything in salt

 

[Sir Novelty Fashion]

RESO works for the reason I said - it links several smaller Eaton Centres together into one mall, while the destination shopping in PATH is almost entirely in Eaton Centre.

Okay, this has really been bugging me. RESO, as far as I can tell - and correct me if I'm wrong - is not one contiguous underground passageway, but several complexes linked by the Metro.

That being the case, we should invite Montrealers to our PATH, on which they can take their pick of cinemas and shopping at Toronto Life Square, Yorkdale, Fairview Mall, the Manulife Centre and Scarborough Town Centre, all without seeing the light of day. (In fairness, they will have to weather the RT en route, but that's in Scarborough, and the sun doesn't actually shine there.)

Oh, and there's a fantastic bakery inside Bathurst Station.

 

[MartinMtl]

You are right in a sense, because they now include in RESO the Beri-UQAM section and the Guy-Concordia section, which are connected to the underground city only by metro. But the original underground path, the big one under downtown, is now continuous since they build the Quartier International, which connect the two large sections of it (Place des Arts_Convention Center and Peel-McGill).

This new continuous path connects Place des Arts, Complexe Desjardins, the Convention Center, the Quartier International, The stock Exchange tower and Square Victoria, The World Trade Center (including the Hotel Intercontinental and the future Westin now being build), The Bell and National Bank complex, Place Bonaventure, Central Station, the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, 1000 De la Gauchetière, Windsor Station, Bell Center, Place Ville-Marie, Eaton Center, Place de la Cathédrale (including the Bay, Les Ailes de la Mode, etc.), Place Montreal-Trust, The Industrielle center (Paramount cinemas, Simon) and Court Mont-Royal. It's also link to most office towers and hotels on René-Lévesque, DeMaisonneuve and many on Sherbrooke street between University and Peel streets. So in fact, most of Montreal downtown's core is now connected.

The two other sections, Berri-Uqam and Guy-Concordia, are marginal in the RESO and most Montrealers would not even think of them as being part of the underground city. Hope that helps.

 

[urbandreamer]

The missing link in Mtl is complete now: I love it! I always hated having to pop outside for a bit there on my way to IGA (@Mais/St L i believe?) grocery shopping from McGill/old mtl. Unlike Toronto, I was shocked one day to see some Amish in that tunnel under Desjardin's--Amish in Mtl are a rare sight for this ex-Waterlooian

 

[rpgr]

I love the idea of PATH especially as the city gets taller and the wind tunnels bigger.

Now if only they expanded it all the way to Yonge and Bloor and all around, you know, how the city transportation grid should be!

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Inspired by discussion on this thread I finally took an evening to re-familiarize myself with the PATH system and spend some time down there. With the exception of Marché/Movenpick I haven't been near the business district area of PATH in probably 10 or 15 years. I walked around from about 7 to 11pm and was surprised to find it wasn't as desolate as I expected. South of the Sheraton Centre everything was closed save for a few restaurant/pubs and a McDonalds under BCE Place but there was a surprising amount of people moving about. I'm familiar with the PATH map so I had no problem navigating around by following PATH and directional signs, tower markers and maps at key intersections. I imagined how busy it must be during the day which, with crowds rushing through the corridors, might make it more difficult to navigate the PATH given the pressure to keep moving and the distraction of throngs of people everywhere.
The PATH is unique to be sure but as I was walking around I couldn't help ponder once again how this could be promoted as a tourist destination. The area under the TD Centre holds up really well and looks great, BCE Place is brilliant but all in all I couldn't see how a tourist could have a memorable time down there. It's one Starbucks after another (I stopped counting at 16) and mostly forgettable retail most of which closes at 6 or 7pm, south of The Sheraton Centre.
I enjoyed taking the time to re-familiarize myself with the area. It serves a very useful purpose but I don't see how the City can lure tourists down there when there's so many more places and events to see and experience in the city.