With the cold weather feeling like it's here to stay, we might need to take some cues from our friends up North.

This never-ending winter has been a bummer. But why not turn the icy, snowy conditions (and lingering patches of ice all over the place) into a positive?

According to the BBC, that's exactly what Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is considering:

With an average temperature of -12C (9.5F) in the heart of winter, and home to seven city-owned outdoor skating rinks, Edmonton, Alberta is no stranger to the cold.

Unlike other cities in the US and Canada that have banned activities such as tobogganing because of insurance costs, Edmonton has no such laws.

Now the city is considering flooding an 11km route for residents to commute through the city on skates.

It's called the Freezeway. Organisers are planning a pilot project for as early as next winter.

The premise first came about years ago, as an offhand comment from a civic leader with an environmental bent.

"Why don't we just crack the fire hydrants open, flood the streets and let people skate to work in the winter?" teased city councillor Tooker Gomberg, in the 1990s.

 

So, landscape architecture student Matthew Gibbs designed just that. Here's his proposal:

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