My grandparents used to live in Indianapolis, and I spent some time in Indiana when I was a kid. I think the difference is, when we have snow and ice here we've got a ****load of equipment and workers who are very experienced at trying to clear streets and our network of bike paths. Sure, sometimes things suck for a while, but generally stuff gets to be minimally driveable/rideable fairly quickly. In Indiana when snow and ice comes, the roads can be ****ed up for quite a while. There's just not as much equipment and know-how. I shudder to think what your greenways/bike paths are like!