No, they are not. In Vancouver, our above ground subway system, the tracks do not De-ice, thus when we get a lot of snow (which is extremely rare), that system shuts down and there is a massive backlog and people are scrambing for the bus to get to work. Taken me over an hour more on what typically is a 30 minute communte from my place to my office before when that happens.
It's a cost/benefit for the system. Not enough days of heavy snow to warrant the cost of the De-Icing tracks. If that system was in Calgary, for sure they pay for it.
Most likely that is the logic for Dallas and their power.
No different that buildings in Vancouver have to meet seismic standards whereas they don't in Alberta.
It’s funny on the West Coast, I did my undergrad out there back in the day and like the whole city and even classes would shut down for the smallest amount of snow. No one has proper winter tires or knows how to drive on ice (hint: pump your brakes don’t slam them when on ice).
It’s kind of amusing as an Albertan seeing this and American media acting like the snow and a bit of cold is some catastrophic event. I mean, I guess it is in the sense that the power lines are down and just not used to the cold weather.
As an Albertan where it was literally -40 Celsius across the Province and upwards of -50 Celsius with the wind chill in some places I still came into my office and people went about their daily lives. Just tougher people in some regards I guess when you get used to growing up with this type of cold.
When it gets below -40 though that is ****ing cold, you immediately start coughing the second you step outside because of the cold air on your lungs and you can feel your nostrils starting to freeze within minutes. It’s a weird sensation.
