Gripe as they do about the condition of local roads, Greater Sudburians’ disdain for road conditions didn’t translate into votes for this year’s CAA Worst Roads Campaign.
The vehicle-rattling symptoms of degrading infrastructure are ranked via voting in the annual campaign.
There were 123 municipalities that had roads in their communities nominated. Drivers accounted for most of the votes being cast, with cyclists and pedestrians accounting for about a quarter of the votes.
The campaign’s intent is to make roads safer by helping municipal and provincial governments understand what roadway improvements are important to citizens and where they need to be made.
“We know the campaign works. People vote in the annual CAA Worst Roads Campaign because it gives Ontarians a platform to continue putting pressure on various levels of government to understand what roads they believe are in urgent need of repair,” said Jeff Walker, president and CEO of CAA North and East Ontario, in a media release.
“The Worst Roads campaign demonstrates that decision-makers’ attention to the results, which has prompted municipal officials to move up infrastructure projects in their communities.”
Last year, Barrydowne Road in Sudbury was ranked as No. 6 in the organization’s listings of worst roads in north and east Ontario. It remains a significant bottleneck in the city this summer due to ongoing road work expected to conclude this year.
Although Greater Sudbury didn’t rank among the worst roads in Ontario as a whole, the city is featured heavily in the CAA’s Northern Ontario rankings of the worst five roads, which include:
- Algonquin Boulevard East, Timmins
- Lansing Avenue, Greater Sudbury
- Arthur Street West, Thunder Bay
- Paris Street, Greater Sudbury
- Fielding Road, Greater Sudbury
Among voters’ rationale for selecting a road, 80 per cent cited potholes, followed by poor road maintenance (71 per cent) and no or poor cycling infrastructure (29 per cent). Ontario's Top 10 list is verified by the Ontario Road Builders' Association.
“This year’s Worst Roads campaign once again solidified the fact that although much work has been done across the province to maintain and repair Ontario’s roads, greater investment is needed to tackle the staggering municipal infrastructure deficit in Ontario,” the association’s CEO Bryan Hocking said in a media release.
“Building and maintaining infrastructure is a critical part of Ontario’s long-term economic plan, and even more important to our economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. We must begin to build the necessary infrastructure today so we can be ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow.”
This year’s Top 10 Worst Roads in Ontario include:
- Barton Street East, Hamilton
- Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto
- Barker Street, Prince Edward County
- County Road 49, Prince Edward County
- Carling Avenue, Ottawa
- Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto
- Lake Shore Boulevard East, Toronto
- Finch Avenue West, Toronto
- Bronson Avenue, Ottawa
- Queen Street, Kingston
