Drivers who have used a private service road at WinSport as a shortcut will need to find an alternate route in the coming weeks.
West Track Service Road, which follows a winding route between the Trans-Canada Highway and the neighbourhoods south of Canada Olympic Park, will be closed to unauthorized traffic in June.
On Friday, WinSport announced it would be installing a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) controlled gate on the road near the sliding track. Officials say the road was built for the 1988 Winter Olympics to transport sliding athletes and equipment to the start house and was never meant to accommodate the significant amount of vehicles that currently use the road.
The gate will be installed in the coming weeks and is expected to be operational in June.
Guests will be able to access select WinSport parking lots from the top of the hill via 85 Street SW.
“As a not-for-profit organization, WinSport simply cannot afford the high maintenance costs of the road that is resulting from the substantial amount of daily volume,” said WinSport President and CEO Barry M. Heck. “Studies have validated our belief that a large majority of traffic is passing through the park.”
WinSport expects the gate’s installation will reduce the number of vehicles on the road by more than 75 per cent, greatly reducing maintenance costs.
