The City, however, wants it as the sidewalks are getting more and more crowded, and the thousands of new residents that these projects will bring will only increase the pressures on the pedestrian infrastructure. The City also wants the weather-protected network there so that on bad days people will have the option to avoid the weather. It becomes a competitive advantage in selling Toronto as a good place to live and work, etc., etc. Much of the older stretches of PATH are a bit confusing as they have had to be added into basements after-the-fact, and I admit that some new stretches like the bit under Aura only pay lip service to the concept, but a properly planned section should work the way the City wants it to, as a viable, attractive alternative to crowded sidewalks. A good question though is whether or not the City can demand something better than what we got at Aura.
Meanwhile, no one is compelled to take the whichever bit of PATH if they don't want to, but on some days it will seem like a more attractive option than others.
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