New website lets you navigate the PATH on your phone
TORONTO — Many who venture into Toronto’s PATH walkway get lost in the labyrinth of underground tunnels. But a new website wants to help people navigate the largest subterranean shopping mall in the world.
“I’ve personally experienced the frustration of getting lost in the PATH,” says Eric Rotberg, the 38-year-old inventor who took it upon himself to develop the mobile site, Pathmap.ca. “Once you’ve found your current location and selected your destination, the site calculates the shortest, quickest route to get you there.”
About 200,000 people use the 30-kilometre-long network every day. While many locals use it to get to and from work daily, occasional users and visitors to the city can have a difficult time finding their way through the maze of tunnels that connect 50 buildings and 1,200 shops.
“[The PATH] is a tourist trap in the literal sense. Anybody that comes down there for the first time is bound to get lost,” says Richard Joy, executive director of Toronto’s Urban Land Institute.