Activity in downtown Toronto at highest level in years, but experts say there's still a long way to go

Downtown Toronto appears to finally be bouncing back nearly four years after the onset of the pandemic, but it could still be a while before the city returns to its former glory, experts say. According to research by the University of Toronto's School of Cities, which has been monitoring cellphone activity in major North American cities since 2020, foot traffic in downtown Toronto between March to mid-June of 2023 was at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. That's the highest number of unique visitors seen in Toronto's downtown core since COVID-19 closed businesses around the globe and changed the nature…