Latest news with #WorstRoads
Global News
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Global News
Hamilton home to Ontario's worst road yet again. Here are the others
Ontarians had their chance to vote for their most hated roads in the province through the Canadian Automobile Association's (CAA) annual Worst Roads campaign, and the results are in. For a second year in a row, Aberdeen Avenue in Hamilton has been named the worst road in Ontario, among the 2,400 roads that were nominated for the campaign. Following closely in second and third place were Barton Street East, also in Hamilton, and County Road 49 in Prince Edward County. The campaign gives drivers a chance to call out the roads they believe are in the worst shape, from potholes and cracked pavement to congestion and constant lane closures. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Timely repairs, better communication, quick fixes, pothole funds, and using recycled aggregates are just some solutions to fix unsafe roads,' said Teresa Di Felice, assistant vice president of government and community relations for CAA South Central Ontario. Story continues below advertisement 'Our research shows that 85 per cent of Ontarians are concerned about the state of our roads. … This campaign gives people a voice and helps push for real improvements.' Other roads on this year's list include the Gardiner Expressway and Sheppard Avenue West in Toronto, as well as Hurontario Street in Mississauga. According to a CAA survey, nearly half of drivers in Ontario say poor road conditions have damaged their vehicles. Around 81 per cent paid out of pocket for repairs, which averaged $933, up more than $80 from last year. 'With the increasing cost of living, many people hold on to their cars for longer when damaged, the last thing they need is expensive repair bills on an already stretched household budget,' Di Felice said. The survey recorded cracked pavement as the top complaint, followed closely by potholes and traffic congestion. More than 60 per cent of respondents also agreed that not enough is currently being done to maintain the roads in their area. However, CAA said at least 10 roads have been repaired in the past four years as a result of being named. 'We know that the campaign works and that decision-makers are listening,' added De Felice.
CTV News
29-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Pembina Valley roadway earns dubious honour from CAA Manitoba
Ewald Friesen of CAA Manitoba unveils the 2025 Worst Roads list and how rural voices are shaping road repair priorities.
Global News
29-05-2025
- Automotive
- Global News
Rural Manitoba roads earn dubious honours in CAA Worst Roads campaign
CAA Manitoba has announced the 'winner' of its annual Worst Roads campaign, and the dubious honour goes to Provincial Trunk Highway 34 in the Central Plains/Pembina Valley area. This year, the auto club said Thursday, marks the first time nine of the top 10 worst roads — as selected by Manitoba drivers — are outside Winnipeg's city limits, with Saskatchewan Avenue as the lone road in the provincial capital making the list at number 10. Drivers cited frustration with potholes as a major reason for PTH 34's nomination, with poor maintenance, poor signage, and unpaved sections adding to the overall experience. These frustrations, CAA said, aren't new — the highway has appeared on six of the annual Worst Roads lists, but 2025 marks its first time atop the leaderboard. A crumbling section of Provincial Trunk Highway 34 in Central Plains — the 'winner' of Manitoba's Worst Road for 2025. CAA Manitoba CAA's Ewald Friesen said the goal of the annual campaign is to raise awareness about the condition of some roads across the province and to hopefully spur government action when it comes to road repairs. Story continues below advertisement 'The CAA Worst Roads campaign provides a powerful snapshot to governments on where to prioritize budgets and move up road repairs by giving Manitobans an opportunity to have their say on the difficulties they are experiencing in getting around,' Friesen said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We saw the proof of this when last year's winner, 18th Street in Brandon, received a swift and co-ordinated response from governments on the same day the results were released, with shovels in the ground by fall.' Friesen said this year's campaign saw a large increase in the number of nominees, with more than 700 roads across 86 municipalities getting the nod. Joining PTH 34 in first place and Winnipeg's Saskatchewan Avenue at number 10 are two highways in the Interlake (PR 234 and 239), Richmond Avenue and 26th Street in Brandon, PR 307 in the Whiteshell, PR 349 in Westman, PTH 12 in the Eastman area, and PTH 26, also in Central Plains.
CBC
28-03-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
'Embarassing and frustrating,' but having the 'Worst Road in Ontario' can help northern towns land funding
Social Sharing Ontario drivers are once again voting on which roads are the worst in the province. CAA has run the campaign for over 20 years and several roads in the north have "won" in the past, but it's been a while, with southern streets dominating the top 10 in the last few years. Teresa Di Felice, assistant vice-president of government and community relations for CAA, says drivers in some parts of the province are more used to rough roads than others. "I think sometimes there is a difference between municipalities and what people accept as the norm, versus what they want to have attention paid to," she said. Nominations are open until April 18 and after the contenders— which these days are also nominated because of poor conditions on sidewalks and bike lanes— are analyzed by experts, the 2025 list should be out in June. Di Felice says CAA is proud of how the Worst Roads campaign has drawn attention to the issue of crumbling infrastructure and keeps track of which roads end up being repaired after being listed. "The challenge that municipalities have is there is a backlog of road repairs and it can be difficult for municipalities to schedule major repairs on the property tax base. Which is why we also advocate with senior levels of government," she said, adding that the Ontario government recently announced plans to create a "pothole fund" to help small municipalities with repairs. Brenda Reid, the mayor of the Township of Assiginack on Manitoulin Island, is skeptical, however. "It's really, really hard to get help for roads. It's just something that the provincial government has decided that municipalities have to take care of their own roads," she said. "So, hopefully we'll never be on that list again." Back in 2006, Cardwell Street, a short rural road in Assiginack running between the village of Manitowaning and the Indigenous community of Wikwemikong was voted worst in Ontario. In an interview with CBC radio at the time, riding along the bumpy washboard road, then Mayor Leslie Fields described the potholes on Cardwell as "fairly deep and fairly could burry a raccoon in it and not see'em." "It's embarrassing at the same time it's very frustrating that we couldn't get the provincial government to listen to us," said Reid, who sat on town council back in 2006. "To keep that thing in pavement it was very difficult at the time." But she said they did use the worst road title to land provincial funding to fix up Cardwell and now more than a decade later, says it is still a relatively smooth ride. In 2015, Timmins Mayor Steve Black encouraged citizens to vote for Algonquin Boulevard, which ended up winning the title and in the years to come, has gone through a multi-million-dollar facelift, largely fuelled by provincial funding.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
CAA Worst Roads campaign gives Ontarians chance to pave way forward
The road to ruin can become the pathway to redemption. Ontarians can now nominate the worst roads they'd like to see fixed in their communities as part of the 22nd CAA Worst Roads Campaign from now through to April 18. According to the Worst Roads survey, nearly half of respondents have experienced vehicle damage because of poor roads with 81% paying out of pocket to repair their vehicle, only 3% filing a claim with their personal auto insurance, and 9% foregoing repairs altogether. 'Our research shows that 85% of Ontarians are concerned about the state of our roads,' said Teresa Di Felice, assistant vice president of government and community relations, CAA South Central Ontario, in a statement. 'The campaign has been a vital platform for Ontarians to nominate roads they believe need urgent attention. It allows Ontarians to drive positive change in their communities by amplifying their voices. With the increasing cost of living, many people hold on to their cars for longer when damaged, the last thing they need is expensive repair bills on an already stretched household budget.' The poll says vehicle damage caused by potholes and poor road maintenance can range from $500 to over $2,000 and the average repair by those surveyed cost $933, a significant $81 increase from 2024. The survey also found that cracked pavement remains the No. 1 issue (88%), followed by potholes (84%) and congestion (81%) — up 4% from 2024. One of the highest-climbing issues is reduced or closed lanes with 78% of respondents saying it's common in their region — up 6% from last year. 'The frustration from motorists is evident,' Di Felice said. 'Congestion continues to grow as one of the top road-related concerns for Ontarians, and the CAA Worst Roads campaign allows governments the insight into what repairs need to be prioritized for their communities.' Hamilton's Aberdeen tops CAA list of Ontario's worst road for 2024 Four Toronto streets on CAA worst road list, Hamilton on top The poll also found that more than half of respondents (64% ) also agreed that not enough is currently being done to maintain the roads in their area. 'We know that the campaign works and that decision-makers are listening. Since the start of the campaign, we have seen budgets prioritized and road repairs moved up,' Di Felice said. 'In the last four campaigns, we have seen 10 roads receive attention because of their nomination in the CAA Worst Roads campaign.' Once the nominations are collected, CAA will reveal the top 10 worst roads in the province to the public. CAA conducted an online survey with 2,370 CAA SCO members between Jan. 6-14, 2025. Based on the sample size and the confidence level (95%), the margin of error for this study was +/- 2 per cent.
