DCHP-3

gate ((n.))

DCHP-2 (Mar 2016)
n. — Prince Edward Island

a lane or driveway.

Type: 2. Preservation — In PEI, the noun gate is used in the special meaning of lane or driveway. This sense is derived from the archaic meaning of 'a way, road, or path' which, according to OED-3 (s.v. "gate" (n.2)), currently still appears in Scottish English and other northern dialects of British English (from Old Norse gata 'road'). Though it is likely that the term has been preserved from these BrE dialects through settlers in the province, it is unclear how the semantic narrowing to a lane or driveway occurred. The evidence suggests that gate is largely limited to the spoken and informal language (see the 1895 and 1988 quotations).
See also COD-2, s.v. "gate2" (2), which is marked "Cdn (PEI)", DPEIE, s.v. "gate".

Quotations

1895
Seymour had to shovel the gate out and then we got over to afternoon service without any further difficulty. (WOODMAN, SUSAN, Diary: January 1, 1895--December 31, 1896, 1895, 5).
1988
I remember I left home and I said, 'I don't want to be around when the mare leaves.' So I stayed away for quite a while. I was just driving in the gate when they were taking her out (T M135).
2007
Mr. Boyuk had spoken to her and identified Veniot to her. She approached Veniot to see if he was okay and asked him if he was involved in the collision. Veniot’s response was to advise her that he fell on the gate at the end of the driveway and hurt his back. The “gate” is a local expression referring to the driveway.

References