The mayor of Prince Edward County hopes Highway 49’s worst road ranking paves the way for more conversation with the Transportation Minister but he says the municipality can’t always keep looking to the province for a hand out.
As of Tuesday night, Highway 49 topped the Canadian Automobile Association’s list of the worst roads in Southern Ontario.
The ranking comes as part of CAA’s annual campaign that seeks public votes on things like potholes, traffic congestion or pedestrian and cyclist safety.
Mayor Robert Quaiff has been vocal at Queen’s Park on the need for $21 million dollars to repair one of the County’s popular gateways that sees 3,100 to 4,200 vehicles traveling down it every day. He has taken chunks of the road that have come loose along with the video seen above to his sit downs with Transportation Minister Stephen Del Duca that states more than 600,000 visitors make their way to Sandbanks Provincial Park each summer.
The County was then denied a funding request for repairs to the road because it didn’t meet critical health and safety components.
Quaiff says this campaign brings a lot of attention to the fact that Highway 49 is unsafe.
Following the three week campaign, CAA will present the list of worst roads and its recommendations to local and provincial officials in a push to get them fixed.
The mayor says at the end of the day they will keep the conversation going and get ready to apply for the next round of funds with the aim of getting the road fixed.
Voting ends on April 29. To vote on Highway 49 or any other road go to http://caaworstroads.com/
