Toronto’s ‘Moles’ Winter Underground

Where have all the people gone? Underground.

When winter’s bitter chill hits Toronto, pedestrians are a scarce commodity on downtown city streets.

Rather than bundling up to face the blustery winds and snowy streets, they opt for shirt sleeves and a stroll in the tunnels that link almost 50 office towers and more than 1,100 shops and restaurants.

Toronto’s underground network, considered by some to be the city’s best-kept secret, spans almost seven miles and connects bus and rail stations, subways, indoor parking spaces and six downtown hotels.

Torontonians can get their clothes cleaned, mail letters, eat lunch, do their banking and see a doctor--all without stepping outside.

Some downtown business people call themselves “moles” because they rarely see the light of day.

They drive their cars to work--frequently in the dark during winter months--park in indoor lots, take tunnels to their offices and drive home in the dark.

The brightly lit tunnels have park-style benches, plants and trees--and even cascading waterfalls under skylights to give the impression of being outside without having to face the elements, in winter or summer.

But trying to navigate the tunnels can be a daunting experience, especially for tourists or locals who use them only occasionally.

As the crow flies, they stretch nearly a mile and a half from the main rail station through the business center and past city hall. But in the underground maze there is no such thing as a direct route.

“A lot of people come in totally disoriented,” said Diana Ricci, saleswoman at a clothing store. “And it’s not always easy to explain how they can get where they want to go.”

Other shop workers agreed, adding that even they get lost when venturing into unknown territory.

The system was built in stages and lacks a recognizable pattern, so people giving directions use stores as landmarks: Turn right at the post office, left at the Body Shop and the place you are looking for is to the left of the food court.

Now the City of Toronto and building owners have come together to devise a “way-finding system” to help guide people around the maze of tunnels.

“We’ve been at this for a long, long time,” said Don Sinclair, coordinator of the way-finding program for the city. “By the middle of the year we should have the signs up.”

Sinclair said the city will pay about $850,000 (U.S. $740,000) for the design and coordination of the project. The building owners--each tunnel belongs to the building above it--will foot the bill to install the signs.

The new system will use a combination of colors and compass-like coordination points to help orient wanderers.

In the meantime, tourists can buy a “Toronto down-under” map of the system with perspective drawings of the underground that detail most of the stores and services.