TORONTO, (Nov. 23, 2004) — Twenty roads have earned the dubious distinction of being named the worst in Ontario for 2004 — with Sudbury, Toronto, Ottawa, and Windsor holding 12 of the spots.

Released officially today by the Municipal Roads Coalition, the top 10 municipal roads and streets judged to be among the most congested, dangerous, and/or poorly maintained in the province are:

Albert Street, Township of Norwich, Oxford County; Paris Street, Sudbury; Bathurst Street, Toronto; Municipal Road 55, Sudbury; Steeles Avenue West, Toronto/Region of York; Huron Church Road, Windsor; Limebank Road, Ottawa; St. Joseph Boulevard, Ottawa; Notre Dame, Sudbury, and College Street City, Sudbury.

The entire list can be seen at www.worstroads.ca.

“The problem is getting worse and politicians need to stop stalling and start investing,” says Mark Arsenault of the Canadian Automobile Association Ontario. “This year our nomination rate is 10 times what it was in 2003.”

Selection was based on public nominations and site inspections. Since August 31st, more than 11,000 people from across the province logged on to www.worstroads.ca or called the toll free hotline, 1-877-worstrd, to cast their votes. The top-ranked roads were then inspected last week by local
road experts.

Tasha Kheiriddin of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation notes that Ottawa collects some $2 billion in taxes from Ontario motorists, with almost none of that money going to roads in the province. Queen’s Park collects another $3 billion from motorists, spending about one-third of that amount on roads.

“We need action now to prevent a bigger mess in a few years,” says Rob Bradford of the Ontario Road Builders’ Association in a press release. He explained that governments delude themselves by thinking that they can save
money by delaying road maintenance.

Other groups backing the campaign include the Ontario Motor Coach Association and the Ontario Trucking Association.