People have been documenting how dead downtown Toronto feels lately
The dreaded lockdown years may feel far behind us, but there are still some very visible ways that Toronto has yet to fully recover from the pandemic.
Beloved local businesses were lost, neighbourhoods hardly resemble their former selves, and, as people are still noticing, the city’s Financial District remains far quieter than in the old days.
7:19 am through the downtown financial core on a bike.
Barely. Any. Cars.
The new reality of the hybrid work environment. pic.twitter.com/h5u2RE8lVV
— Jeremiah Shamess (@JShamess) May 26, 2023
Residents are taking to social media to note that while most aspects of life in Toronto feel pretty back to normal, the office-dense parts of Richmond, Adelaide, King and other streets are lacking their characteristic bustle of yore as many people continue to work remotely at least some of the time.
Studies have indeed shown that downtown hubs in Toronto and other Canadian cities are shrinking and that the return to in-person work has been sluggish for many industries.
This month, a ranking from U of T put us 55th out of 63 cities in North America for post-COVID recovery based on cell phone activity in the core, even so long after forced business closures.
Monday and Fridays feel like Sunday downtown now!
— SilverMan (@GuySilverMoon) May 26, 2023
Toronto’s severe oversupply of office space tells the same story, with millions of square feet of workspace lying vacant and expected to stay that way for many years to come.
One recent report from NAIOP Greater Toronto estimates that this excess supply amid record low demand for such commercial leases will last over a decade — until 2041, at least — as companies choose not to renew or to otherwise back out of their leases.
For all the trolls 😂
Friday. 7:06am downtown core Toronto.
Virtually no cars. pic.twitter.com/d6XHPFmQnn
— Jeremiah Shamess (@JShamess) June 2, 2023
Resident Jeremiah Shamess, who bikes through the downtown core daily with his cycling group, has been documenting on Twitter how still the area looks during times that used to be a nightmare to navigate — particularly early morning “rush” hours on Mondays and Fridays.
“We hit virtually zero traffic on Fridays… It’s definitely a regular thing that traffic feels down 1/3 of what it usually is,” he tells blogTO.
“No one believes me [but] the dichotomy is wild, to be quite frank. It seems as though the market is turning into a shorter work week.”
Just speculating but maybe metrics are telling them productivity waning. My employer’s policy is minimum 4 days per week since June ‘22 & they just reiterated it with a not so gentle reminder. Advisors back but HO attendance light. Financial district in Toronto a eerily quiet M-F
— Arthur Vandelay (@ArturoVandelayI) April 23, 2023
Fortunately for businesses in the area — especially those in the PATH — it appears many locals agree that between Tuesdays and Thursdays, foot and car traffic has picked up significantly from when things felt like an absolute ghost town in 2020 and 2021.
But with experts anticipating a continued downward trend as far as office leases are concerned and employees now counting on a hybrid work model, this reduced downtown presence with creepily calm days bookmarking the middle of the week will likely be the new norm in the city’s central business district.
It’s Friday. If I Bike Share to the Core Tues-Thurs I can’t find a dock. All full. Food courts packed. Long lines everywhere. Friday? 👇 pic.twitter.com/1RqrpuHLXl
— Nick Iozzo (@nickiozzo) May 26, 2023
The fate of the city’s empty office space, meanwhile, is up in the air, as most employers push for staff to show face more often and advocates consider what other, potentially better uses the vast square footage could fulfill.
Follow Channels and Categories