When cities such as Edmonton, Canada, are below freezing for the majority of the year, it's hard to want to embrace the cold and snow. However, landscape architecture student Matthew Gibbs and city council members are considering a way to encourage residents to enjoy the cold rather than try to hide from it. According to BBC, the city is pondering the idea of a "Freezeway" and may launch a pilot project as early as next winter.
The idea was first brought up during a city council meeting during the 1990s, when a council member made an off-hand comment that suggested opening the fire hydrants and letting the streets flood and freeeze over. The comment inspired Gibbs to design the Freezeway, which won first place at the 2013 COLDSCAPES international design competition.
Gibbs said that if two existing rail corridors were connected, then an 11-km route could be established to allow people to skate to work, school, or events in the city. The Freezeway would also encourage more active lifestyles during the winter months, said Gibbs.
Design plans for the Freezeway include:
- Setting up skate rentals in nearby metro stops
- Using buildings as windbreaks
- Using "curbside skating lanes" that could be rolled up in the spring
- Providing built-in snow storage to serve as traffic dividers and contain the ice
- Building developments and plazas in sunny areas
Many council members have said the Freezeway is a good idea, and could be financed with corporate sponsorship or crowdsourcing. The price tag would be hefty, however, at as much as $400 per meter.
Related Stories
Cultural Facilities | Feb 20, 2015
‘Floating’ park on New York’s Hudson River moves one step closer to reality
The developers envision the 2.4-acre space as a major performance arts venue.
Modular Building | Feb 12, 2015
New shipping container complex begins construction in Albuquerque
The Green Jeans Farmery already has a hydroponic farm component courtesy of owner and entrepreneur Roy Solomon.
Architects | Feb 11, 2015
Shortlist for 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award announced
Copenhagen, Berlin, and Rotterdam are the cities where most of the shortlisted works have been built.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 6, 2015
Architects look to ‘activate’ vacant block in San Diego with shipping container-based park
A team of alumni from the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego has taken over a 28,500-sf empty city block in that metro to create what they hope will be a revenue-generating urban park.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 6, 2015
Under the sea: Manmade island functions as artificial reef
The proposed island would allow visitors to view the enormous faux-reef and its accompanying marine life from the water’s surface to its depths, functioning as an educational center and marine life reserve.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 5, 2015
5 developments selected as 'best in urban placemaking'
Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, S.C., and the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Downtown Market are among the finalists for the 2015 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence.
Cultural Facilities | Jan 27, 2015
Henning Larsen designs an opera house that slopes above a lake in China
Henning Larsen, the firm behind the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, releases plans of a latticed opera house on a lake.
| Jan 19, 2015
HAO unveils designs for a 3D movie museum in China
New York-based HAO has released designs for the proposed Bolong 3D Movie Museum & Mediatek in Tianjin.
| Jan 13, 2015
Steven Holl unveils design for $450 million redevelopment of Houston's Museum of Fine Arts
Holl designed the campus’ north side to be a pedestrian-centered cultural hub on a lively landscape with ample underground parking.
| Jan 7, 2015
University of Chicago releases proposed sites for Obama library bid
There are two proposed sites for the plan, both owned by the Chicago Park District in Chicago’s South Side, near the university’s campus in Hyde Park, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
