THUNDER BAY – It is that time of year, when weather conditions in Thunder Bay hit hard on our streets and roadways. Across the city, the cycle of melt and freeze generates potholes and damages our roads.
Whether it’s a bumpy side street, a main thoroughfare without a shoulder, a crumbling bridge, or a stretch of highway with an alarming amount of collisions, residents of Thunder Bay can name at least one roadway they hate to travel on. Representatives from CAA North & East Ontario (CAANEO) were at Narvi’s Truck and Auto Service today to encourage residents to make their concerns and frustrations for decaying infrastructure known by voting for Ontario’s Worst Road.
After an 18-month hiatus, the Worst Roads campaign returns with the message “Help Pave the Way to Safer Roads,” which reiterates the detrimental impact that substandard infrastructure can have on vehicles, the environment and road user safety. Now in its ninth year, the campaign has already had a significant impact on roadway repairs; more than 90 percent of the roadways nominated to the Worst Roads list have been repaired or are scheduled to be repaired in the near future.
“Recognizing the adverse impact that bad roads have on the economy, the environment and road safety, CAANEO remains resolute in our quest to encourage the senior levels of government to provide long-term, sustainable funding to assist municipalities in improving and maintaining Ontario’s transportation infrastructure,” said Korey Kennedy, Manager of Public & Government Affairs for CAANEO. “That is why we are encouraging all Ontario residents to cast their ballot for the road, bridge or highway that they deem to be Ontario’s worst.”
Thunder Bay is no stranger to the Worst Roads list, with residents doing their utmost to highlight local infrastructure in need of repair in past campaigns. Most recently, Onion Lake Road made the final list in 2010, coming in at number 12 as a result of what many voters called “a treacherous” drive due to the condition of the road’s surface.
Aside from now taking place in the spring season, when roads are in their most dire state following the spring thaw, the Worst Roads campaign makes its return with a new Top 10 list that will give greater attention to those roadways that make the final cut.
“Appreciating how tremendously successful the Worst Roads campaign has been over the course of the past eight years, the Club is confident that the recent changes will only help increase the overall level of participation and ensure that more of Ontario’s roadways are repaired and improved,” said Kennedy.
Road users can have their say once again by casting a ballot by April 24, 2012 at one of the eight CAANEO Travel Stores or online at www.worstroads.ca, which provides access to a new voting portal that is integrated with Google Maps and real-time voting.
The Ontario Worst Roads campaign is sponsored by CAA North & East Ontario, CAA South Central Ontario, CAA Niagara, and Ontario Road Builders’ Association.