North Bay's worst road keeps title; now third worst in region

Motorists and pedestrians will have to navigate the potholes on a North Bay road that is again the city's worst according to voting in this year's CAA Worst Roads campaign and also climbed the list to third on worst Northern Ontario roads for 2023.

This year's asphalt resurfacing contract was upped to $4.56 million and recently awarded by the City of North Bay but Premier Road did not make the list. There is a light at the end of the tunnel: Premier Road will receive asphalt resurfacing and new sidewalks, with work slated to begin in 2024 and finish in 2025.

See related: North Bay's worst road to undergo upgrades, repairs in 2024

Through Worst Roads, CAA North & East Ontario collects votes from road users from across the regions, including Ottawa and Cornwall, North Bay, Thunder Bay, Timmins, and Sudbury.  

See related: North Bay's worst road: Voting opens soon in annual CAA poll

The top 5 worst roads in Northern Ontario

1. Algonquin Boulevard East, Timmins
2. Fielding Road, Greater Sudbury
3. Premier Road, North Bay
4. Panache Lake Road, Greater Sudbury
5. Van Horne Street, Greater Sudbury

North and East Ontario’s worst roads were Algonquin Boulevard East (Timmins), Fielding Road (Greater Sudbury), Premier Road (North Bay), Panache Lake Road (Greater Sudbury) and Van Horne Street (Greater Sudbury). Although Thunder Bay didn’t make the top five list in the North, voters nominated dozens of roads, including Harbour Expressway, Arthur Street West and James Street.

The annual survey started in 2003 and is conducted by CAA across Ontario and in other provinces to gather road names, locations and issues, together with whether a voter uses that thoroughfare as a vehicle driver, pedestrian or via public transportation. The results are shared with decision-makers in municipalities and the province. 

“The Worst Roads Survey is a way to take the temperature of the people who use the roads day to day. By collecting this information and sharing it with the municipalities, we ensure road users' voices are heard,” says Jeff Walker, CEO and President of CAA North & East Ontario. “In its 110-year history, CAA has always been an advocate for road safety and the protection of drivers and pedestrians."

According to the Cost of Poor Roads in Canada Study commissioned by CAA in 2021, around 29 per cent of Ontario’s highway kilometres are rated below "good" condition, with another 49 per cent of non-highway kilometres rated below good.

The damage to a vehicle caused by a pothole can range from $300, with some fixes topping $6,000 depending on the make and model of the car. On average, drivers incur around $1250 in extra costs over a car’s lifespan due to poor roads, said the 2021 CAA report.

Hamilton's Barton Street East was voted worst in Ontario. Ottawa's Carling Avenue made the list of Ontario's worst roads for the 19th consecutive year. The 19-kilometre roadway running across the city through suburban, developed and urban neighbourhoods was again the target of voters’ disapproval. Other top five Ottawa roads include familiar names like Hunt Club Road, Heron Road, Bronson Avenue and Bank Street. About Bank Street’s cracked pavement and potholes, one voter commented, “It’s like off-roading in the city.” 

The top 10 worst roads in Ontario 

1. Barton St East, Hamilton 
2. Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto 
3. County Road 49, Prince Edward 
4. Carling Avenue, Ottawa 
5. Finch Avenue West, Toronto 
6. Laclie Street, Orillia  
7. Steeles Avenue East, Toronto 
8. Aberdeen Avenue, Hamilton  
9. Lakeshore Boulevard East, Toronto 
10. Hurontario Street, Mississauga

North Bay's Premier Road is highly populated and exposed to Lake Nipissing weather events and, depending on the season, heavy vehicle use by visitors to Champlain Park and the municipal dog park and boat launch located therein. It finished 12th among North and East roads in CAA's worst roads poll for 2022 and was North Bay's worst-ranked road. 

See related: Premier Road voted North Bay's worst in CAA poll

Thanks to the existing transit route along Premier Road, the stretch of road without sidewalks was identified as an ideal candidate for the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) Sidewalk Program. Asphalt resurfacing of that section with the new sidewalks, from Fowler Road to Champlain Park, will take place in 2024 with the remainder from Fowler to Lakeshore Drive to be resurfaced in 2025. Upon completion, the sidewalks will run from the entrance to the end of Premier on the lake side of the road.

In 2021, North Bay's Third Avenue West topped the list of CAA's worst roads in the combined North and East regions. That same stretch of Third Avenue West between Cassells and Front has since undergone major scheduled reconstruction. 

Since 2003, CAA says its annual Worst Roads campaign has influenced change. Repaving and repair work has been done on many of the roads on Ontario's Worst Roads list, with more to come.