Riding on the Freezeway: Edmonton warms to idea of an icy commute

The city of Edmonton is thinking about embracing its chilly temperatures by creating a seven-mile ice-skating path that would allow commuters to glide to work and school, according to the BBC.

It’s called the Freezeway, and was conceived by Edmonton native Matt Gibbs while he studied for his master’s degree in landscape architecture at the University of British Columbia.

He created the design by transforming two former railroad lines into an ice-covered path leading into the downtown of the capital city of Alberta in Canada, the BBC said.

"I found if we bridged these together, we could create a unified [seven-mile] route that people could skate on—potentially to work, to school or to the hockey game," Gibbs told the BBC.

In the summer, the path could potentially be melted into a bike path or greenway.

Gibbs’ design won the 2013 Center for Outdoor Living Design COLDSCAPES competition. He later explained the plan as one that would help Albertans combat a sedentary lifestyle, according to the design website Sourceable.

“I think it would improve the lives of so many people and really put us on the map in terms of a world-class city,” he said.

Two other Canadian cities actually have similar ice paths, albeit on real, frozen-over waterways — the Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa and the Red River Mutual Trail in Winnipeg.

City planners excitedly told the BBC that a pilot project for the Freezeway could launch as early as next winter, and that the idea has been well received.

"We thought we'd have to push the snowball up hill," said city planner Susan Holdsworth.

But Edmonton city council member Mike Nickel called it “the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard,” telling the BBC that his constituents “just wouldn’t think that this is prudent.”

But Gibbs believes the idea is in keeping with Edmonton’s “WinterCity” plan — an attempt to accentuate the positive in a city where average daily temperatures remain below freezing for over three months a year.