York's Tunnel System

Infiltration

Recently the MacMedia had written about the tunnel system, but their article is not the MacMedia on-line site.

The University has two distinct tunnel systems. One is for pedestrian use and links a variety of buildings. The other is for utilities only.

Pedestrian Links

The following Tunnel-type links are all quite short, but useful [some have above ground links in tandem]:
HNES to Osgoode
CFT to Burton -rarely accessible
Curtis to Computer Science
Computer Science to Steacie
Steacie to Petrie
Petrie to Chemistry
Bethune College to Calumet College
Vanier to Stedman to Farquarson to BSB -currently closed
Schlich to Student Sevices - unheated parking area
Bethune to Stong -through food servery when open

Access to the oldest pedestrian tunnel has been restricted because of a concern of Health and Safety caused by the cleanliness, non-permitted uses, and the water that seeps onto the floor with algae growth.

Over the recent years the University has been building above-ground linkages between many locations. This still leaves a number of discontinuities. The main remaining surface issues are:
from Curtis to go west
From Central Square to the south
any access to Atkinson or TEL from the east or even north
Seneca to Student Services
Vanier to Yorklanes
any access to northern buildings of EOB/WOB/Tait McKenzie/Ice Arena/Stadium
Lumbers/Farquarson to any other building [at this time]
Fine Arts group is isolated from protected pedestrian link routes [this will substantially change with the new Accolade building.]

The Utility Tunnels

There have been increases in the difficulty of gaining access to the tunnel system with concrete block walls replacing the old walls in places of frequent inappropriate access. The pictures in both the MacMedia article and the Infiltration site are accurate images, although the locations are often not correctly identified. There are many discontinuous sections of tunnel, where access cannot be continued without the appropriate keys, or the only way to travel is to leave the tunnel and enter the building. The tunnel may continue from a not obvious service area in that building rendering contiguous access impossible.

Overall the safety of inappropriate access is very low without appropriate safety equipment and permissions. Should one become lost or disoriented the heat and intentional lack of lighting may be deadly, with no one knowing where to search or that a search is even required. A steam leak would be a quick killer indeed.