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By Caden Fanshaw

THE HEAT IS ON

Heated sidewalk concept returns to PG in small sample

Jan 20, 2021 | 4:13 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The idea was floated back in the early 2000s by former Mayor of Prince George Colin Kinsley, heated sidewalks along with heated roads downtown.

The heated concept was proposed to reduce the ice which develops on roads and sidewalks throughout the winter, inspired by similar approaches in Scandinavian countries like Finland.

“There what they were doing is they were gathering up the fuel off the forest floor,” says Kinsley. “Then they would burn it and run the steam through pipes to heat up the streets and sidewalks,”

After Kinsley retired in 2008 the idea was tossed out by his successor Mayor Dan Rogers the city because of the cost that would be associated with the project.

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Kinsley says he understands why the project was thrown out when the city got bids on just how much it would cost to actually embed in the downtown infrastructure.

Now, over 10 years later with the opening of the Prince George Public Library’s new entrance, the first stretch of heated sidewalk in the city has officially been put into use.

“This is just a small sample size that the city is using as a test run,” says Dale Jarvis, Project Manager at the city.

The sidewalk is heated by steam which runs through pipes part of the Downtown Energy Renewal System which uses otherwise wasted energy from Lakeland Mills.

Jarvis said the cost of the heated sidewalk was built into the complete budget of the project but is not planned for sidewalks around the city’s new pool downtown.

The key reason for the installation at the Bob Harkins Branch of the Prince George Public Library was accessibility.

“This is the first stretch in Prince George that is heated along with the entrance to the George street parkade,” says Jarvis.

He says along with avoiding the possibility of slips and falls, this also avoids the buildup of winter grime because little to no sand or salt is needed throughout the winter.

There are no plans on doing this on a large scale to the extent once envisioned by Kinsley as the city wants to wait and see how their test run at the library does before they decide to go ahead.