Driving a car in snow and ice is dangerous enough. But when you get down to just two wheels and you run the risk of skidding and hitting a car, you're facing serious danger. That's why the Netherlands is considering heating bike lanes with underground pipes:
In this report from the Netherlands De Telegraaf news site, the Dutch Cyclists Union enthuses over the possibility of pavement warmed up by underground pipes. Heated paths would induce more bicyclists to ride, the DCU hypothesizes, reduce accidents due to snowy roads, and keep more cars from the roads.
The Dutch province of Utrecht is considering passively-warmed bike lanes, as is the town of Zutphen.
The cost is estimated to be between U.S. $25 - 50,000 per kilometer of heated bike path. Marcel Boerefijn of the engineering firm Tauw said in one news report that the pipes for the heated bike paths would have to run as deep as 50 meters down, which is why the cost per kilometer of lane is so high. Heat generated during the summer months would be collected and stored, and used to de-ice and warm the paths in the winter.