Hello,
Touring and commuting aren’t the same.
For touring SPD is ok as long as you choose really rigid shoes (if not you’ll be at risk to feel the cleat zone under your feet and this is a very unpleasant experience)
for commuting, SPD is a dream. MTB shoes are required (because alas no manufacturer provides more clasical looking shoes with SPD cleat.. except very difficult to find Brontrager Street, very poor quality exustar or very expansive, Quoc Pham, Dromarti or Vittoria).
I use shimano MT41, ugly but confortable and looking as a normal winter sporty shoe.
in town SPD is very secure (no more foot that slips on the pedal); if set at le weakest, it’s easy to disengage the feet in a panic situation (not the case with road pedal), and pedal like Shimano 520 have two similar faces which mean that you don’t have to search for the right side, both sides are the right side..
My two cents..
Luc