Toronto, Ontario — The votes are in and the CAA Worst Road in Ontario for 2021 is Victoria Road in Prince Edward County. Making its debut on the Ontario top 10 list, voters cited potholes and crumbling pavement as the main concerns for the Prince Edward County road.
Taking the second and third place spots are Carling Avenue in Ottawa and Barton Street East in Hamilton, respectively.
“The quality of our roadways affect everyone,” says Tina Wong, government relations specialist for CAA South Central Ontario. “Our roads are the arteries used every day to keep essential workers, goods and services flowing. They should be maintained now more than ever.”
In Ontario, 117 municipalities saw roads in their communities nominated. Drivers accounted for a majority of the votes being cast, with cyclists and pedestrians accounting for about a quarter of the votes.
Voters shared their primary reasons for selecting a road, with 81 percent citing potholes or crumbling pavement, followed by traffic congestion (11 percent) and no or poor walking infrastructure (7 percent).
Ontario’s Top 10 Worst Roads for 2021, verified by the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA):
- Victoria Road, Prince Edward County
- Carling Avenue, Ottawa
- Barton Street East, Hamilton
- County Road 49, Prince Edward County
- Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto
- Hunt Club Road, Ottawa
- Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto
- Innes Road, Ottawa
- Algonquin Boulevard West, Timmins
- Queen Street, Kingston
Two notable changes in this year’s list include Riverdale Drive in Washago coming off the provincial top 10 list and Toronto’s Eglinton Ave East dropping from first to fifth place.
“As people continue working from home and traveling locally during the pandemic, we are seeing different roads appear on the list. We should continue taking advantage of these lighter traffic patterns as an opportunity for necessary road repairs,” adds Wong.
The CAA Worst Roads campaign is a platform for Ontarians 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.
Votes submitted to the CAA Worst Roads campaign are compiled and released as an annual provincial top 10 list along with a series on regional lists, all designed to spark a dialogue with governments and to help pave the way for safer roads across Ontario.
Collision Repair Magazine will be sharing the worst roads in other regions, so stay tuned for more.
For the full list of the 2021 Worst Roads, click here.
