These are the ten worst roads to drive on in Ontario

The South Central Ontario Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) released the results of its annual ‘Worst Roads’ campaign Tuesday.

The campaign sees Ontario residents nominate and vote for roads in their communities in notably poor condition. They can vote on issues ranging from congestion, potholes, poor road signs and the timing of traffic lights.

This year’s campaign saw 3,000 roads nominated across 182 Ontario municipalities, according to the CAA.

These are the roads that received the most votes and have been dubbed the worst for driving on:

1. Barton Street East, Hamilton, ON.
2. Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto, ON.
3. Barker Street, Prince Edward County, ON.
4. County Road 49, Prince Edward County, ON.
5. Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON.
6. Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto, ON.
7. Lake Shore Boulevard East, Toronto, ON.
8. Finch Avenue West, Toronto, ON.
9. Bronson Avenue, Ottawa, ON.
10. Queen Street, Kingston , ON.

Barton Road East in Hamilton claimed the top spot as Ontario’s worst road.

“After making its debut on the… list in 2019, Barton Street East has ranked fifth place, [then] third place, and climbed to first place this year due to potholes and severe alligator cracking in the pavement,” the CAA said in a release issued Tuesday.

“It has also taken the top spot as Hamilton’s worst road for the third year in a row.”

Eglinton Avenue West in Toronto and Barker Street in Prince Edward County claimed second and third place, respectively.

Of the ten worst roads, five can be found in the Greater Toronto Area. The CAA said double the number of Toronto roads appeared on this year’s list compared to last year.

To view which roads received the most votes in each region, click here.

‘COORDINATED VOICE’

CAA assistant vice president of government and community relations, Teresa Di Felice told CTV News Toronto the ultimate goal of this campaign is to “give people a coordinated, collaborative voice to get their message across.”

“It can be challenging as an individual to have your voice heard – in particular, on infrastructure issues,” she added. “But we know the campaign works."

Last year, residents of Prince Edward County banded together in order to have Victoria Road claim the title of worst road in Ontario.

Residents went as far as to set up an LED sign on the road encouraging others to vote.

Their efforts were rewarded when Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson announced city council had allocated funding to the repair and maintenance of Victoria Road in its 2021 budget, adding that "council was responsive and agile in dealing with a changing situation."

“They rallied together,” Di Felice said, noting this year Victoria Road did not appear on the list.

Di Felice said she’s grateful the campaign can be used as a community improvement tool for Ontario residents.

“We're pleased that people find value in the campaign in order to have their voice heard and use it as a tool to let decision makers know about what they're thinking, feeling and wanting with respect to infrastructure in their communities.”