Since announcing the project in 2015, Montreal has been slowly moving ahead with a plan to install heated sidewalks on one of its key downtown arteries. Construction is set to begin in 2018, while a second phase two years later would expand the heated surface to 2.2 kilometres. Saskatoon has included heated sidewalks in its medium-term plans to redevelop its city centre, but officials are not pursuing it actively at present, according to planning director Lesley Anderson. But while the price seems astronomical, heated sidewalks could pay off in the long run, according to François Racine, an urban studies professor at Universite du Quebec a Montreal. Lachapelle said that given the costs of heated sidewalks, he’d prefer sticking to blades.

Source: thestar January 28, 2017 15:32 UTC