According to a UBC graduate, who grew up in Edmonton, he has a plan to create a 7-mile long trail to make commuting to work in the winter more fun.
The Edmonton Freezeway is inspired by Matt Gibbs, a landscape architect, who came up with the idea back in 2012.
Speaking to CTV News, Gibbs said that:
Does being Canadian mean we fly to Mexico every winter? said Gibb, a landscape architect. I think we can create better ways to enhance the livability and create more physically and socially active communities by creating more climate adaptive solutions in our cities.
And seeing how Edmonton is below 0 degrees Celsius for about half the year every year (it is -13 C at the time of this writing), this is a great idea (and would be a great tourist attraction too).
But will Gibbs wish and design come to fruition? From the looks of it, it may come to reality sooner rather than later.
Speaking to the BBC, Edmonton City Planner Susan Holdsworth said that:
"We thought we'd have to push the snowball up hill," she said of selling Mr Gibbs' idea to the public
"Instead it's like we're riding downhill, gaining momentum, going faster all the time."
As well, Councillor Scott McKeen said that it would be a great addition to Edmonton, and that they should stop copying other North American cities by trying to engineer out of winter. Rather winter being one of its greatest natural resources should be exploited.
However, not everyone is for the project, as Councillor Mike Nickel said it is "the stupidest idea I've heard."
Even though everything in life will garner criticizers, there are some questions that need to be answered. A couple of the questions are: How would this cater to people who dont want to skate? And how would the Freezeway be used in the summer?
Well, Gibbs included a pedestrian walkway for those who dont want to skate, which is good for year-round use. And his design would be used as a bike lane in the summer.
In my route, Ive created a pedestrian route alongside the multi-use trail that in the summer would be a bike lane and in the winter turn into this frozen skating trail, he said.
Though the Edmonton Freezeway is still in its early stages and has some hurdles to hop over, it seems that the majority of Edmonton is for it. Well just have to wait and see if this project happens.
http://www.examiner.com/article/ubc-grad-proposes-edmonton-freezeway-an-alternative-way-to-get-to-work
