The votes are in and the CAA Worst Road 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.
Two of the Top 10 Roads are in Prince Edward County, as Highway 49 appeared at #4. Queen Street in Kingston is the only other road on the list, it is at #10. Highway 49 was named the #1 CAA Worst Road in 2016
“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.”
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 travelling 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.
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% citing potholes or crumbling pavement, followed by traffic congestion(11%) and no or poor walking infrastructure (7%).
Ontario’s top 10 list is verified by the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA).
Prince Edward County has Victoria Road slated for upgrades in 2021. The work will be the majority of the road, between County Road 33 to County Road 23.
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Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson released the following statement to Quinte News
Victoria Road
Council allocated funding to begin the rehabilitation work on Victoria Road (3.1 km) as part of the 2021 budget deliberations.
This April 2021, Council supported a staff recommendation to complete the remaining length of the roadway (7.9 km) based on an assessment that the roadway was continuing to deteriorate rapidly and represented an ongoing maintenance challenge.
Council was responsive and agile in dealing with a changing situation.
The rehabilitation work is currently underway and will be completed this summer.
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County Road 49
County Road 49 is currently approved by Council for design works in anticipation of reconstruction.
The design consultant will be providing an evaluation of two options with either a concrete or asphalt surface and staff will present a report with recommendation to Council for decision, following which, detailed design will be finalized with estimated costing that will be used to inform the 2022 budget.
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General Comment on Road Maintenance in Prince Edward County
The County of Prince Edward is responsible for maintaining 1,047 kilometres of roads, which is more roadway per person than all of our neighbouring and comparative municipalities.
Over the past two years, we have embarked on an ambitious rural road work plan. In fact, investments in 2020 and 2021 are the largest we have made over the past decade.
It has been apparent for some time that the municipality does not have financial means to meet all road needs in Prince Edward County.
That’s why we are developing a clear plan for prioritizing road improvements to ensure we are investing in the right road roads, at the right time, using the right techniques. Council will consider that plan as part of the 2022 capital budget deliberations.
