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When I lived in Montreal, I used to love the "Underground City" in winter (and in the height of summer). Basically the entire downtown area is connected by tunn

When I lived in Montreal, I used to love the "Underground City" in winter (and in the height of summer). Basically the entire downtown area is connected by tunnels. I used to have a colleague who lived in an apartment building connected to it. He would often show up at work in short sleeves and no coat because he could walk the couple of miles from his building to work completely underground.

TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
What's interesting about London is how little of this it has compared to other cities. There are a few relatively short walkable tube links, but most of London is very definitely above ground. London doesn't have Montreal's fierce winters - occasionally it snows, but mostly it just rains a lot - but even so. The tube is treated exclusively as a serious and frivolity-free travel system. The idea that it could be more than that, with underground malls and food courts that would appeal to tourists and regulars, seems somehow unthinkable.
- Richtwarms 4y ago
  Does it rain in London that much, vs other global cities... Or is it just a myth from old smoggy and rainy movies...? https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/climate/rain-much-london-well-not-much-really/ https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/climate/rain-much-london-...
- johnday 4y ago
  The subway tunnel from London Bridge national rail station to the Underground has some of this, but I agree that it's astonishingly rare. Very few stations even have so much as a toilet, let alone a cafe or shops. Personally I'm a very big fan of TfL's approach on this - the minimalism of the network is really quite nice.
- evgen 4y ago
  Actually, there is a _ton_ of London that is underground, it just happens to not be for pedestrians or the general public. You should take a look at some of the planning and tight clearances that are required for things like adding additional cooling/ventilation to the existing tube network. When they were adding a new exit to Victoria as a part of the changes to the station I remember reading about trying to navigate the digging of multi-meter diameter holes with clearances to other underground structures or voids that were 10cm or less.
- basisword 4y ago
  That sounds awful (and unnecessary) to me. When I’m using the tube it’s because I want to get somewhere. Shoppers getting in the way would just be frustrating. It makes perfect sense in Montreal but eating/shopping underground just sounds miserable when our weather rarely goes below 0. Also a poor use of expensive space when, as I said, eating and shopping above ground is always comfortable.
- lbriner 4y ago
  It isn't that surprising. The original tube lines were built just below the surface and they had to go down the middle of the road partly because it was easier and partly to try and avoid damage to old buildings (and demolition although this did happen in places). When you look at how densely populated London is along with many deep basements, you don't have a lot of options for having these underground malls.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
bin_bash 4y ago
I’ve heard you can do this quite well in Chicago and Minneapolis (the latter via skywalks[0]) Probably because of the brutal cold you have around the Great Lakes. [0]: https://minneapolis-2021.s3.amazonaws.com/images/hotels-minneapolis-skyway-map-3-23-22.pdf?v=1648051918 https://minneapolis-2021.s3.amazonaws.com/images/hotels-minn...

TheOtherHobbes 4y ago

What's interesting about London is how little of this it has compared to other cities. There are a few relatively short walkable tube links, but most of London is very definitely above ground. London doesn't have Montreal's fierce winters - occasionally it snows, but mostly it just rains a lot - but even so. The tube is treated exclusively as a serious and frivolity-free travel system. The idea that it could be more than that, with underground malls and food courts that would appeal to tourists and regulars, seems somehow unthinkable.

Richtwarms 4y ago
Does it rain in London that much, vs other global cities... Or is it just a myth from old smoggy and rainy movies...? https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/climate/rain-much-london-well-not-much-really/ https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/climate/rain-much-london-...
johnday 4y ago
The subway tunnel from London Bridge national rail station to the Underground has some of this, but I agree that it's astonishingly rare. Very few stations even have so much as a toilet, let alone a cafe or shops. Personally I'm a very big fan of TfL's approach on this - the minimalism of the network is really quite nice.
evgen 4y ago
Actually, there is a _ton_ of London that is underground, it just happens to not be for pedestrians or the general public. You should take a look at some of the planning and tight clearances that are required for things like adding additional cooling/ventilation to the existing tube network. When they were adding a new exit to Victoria as a part of the changes to the station I remember reading about trying to navigate the digging of multi-meter diameter holes with clearances to other underground structures or voids that were 10cm or less.
basisword 4y ago
That sounds awful (and unnecessary) to me. When I’m using the tube it’s because I want to get somewhere. Shoppers getting in the way would just be frustrating. It makes perfect sense in Montreal but eating/shopping underground just sounds miserable when our weather rarely goes below 0. Also a poor use of expensive space when, as I said, eating and shopping above ground is always comfortable.
lbriner 4y ago
It isn't that surprising. The original tube lines were built just below the surface and they had to go down the middle of the road partly because it was easier and partly to try and avoid damage to old buildings (and demolition although this did happen in places). When you look at how densely populated London is along with many deep basements, you don't have a lot of options for having these underground malls.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

bin_bash 4y ago

I’ve heard you can do this quite well in Chicago and Minneapolis (the latter via skywalks[0]) Probably because of the brutal cold you have around the Great Lakes. [0]: https://minneapolis-2021.s3.amazonaws.com/images/hotels-minneapolis-skyway-map-3-23-22.pdf?v=1648051918 https://minneapolis-2021.s3.amazonaws.com/images/hotels-minn...