Proposed Edmonton velodrome worries neighbors

Although the Edmonton City Council has approved a Can$32-million indoor velodrome in their Argyll Park near the Mill Creek Ravine, local residents are trying to put the brakes on the plans. The new indoor velodrome would replace the one constructed for the 1978 Commonwealth Games. It would laso house a running track, indoor sports courts and a gym.

Residents are complaining about the project's size and the effects of likely increased traffic travelling to and from the new facility.

"I'm dead against it," said Lee Currie to the Edmonton Journal, who has lived across from the proposed site for six years and said traffic is horrendous even when there are local baseball tournaments. "I have nothing against the facility; I just don't want it in my backyard."

A new velodrome would enable Canada to host additional major competitions. Former pro cyclist Alex Stieda is working to promote the new velodrome.

"There are so many positive sides to this," Steida said. "They would have a recreational facility in their backyard that their residents could walk to. In my mind, what community wouldn't want that?"