Cottagers will say the worst road is the road home after a weekend away at the lake. Traffic congestion and a fleeting feeling of loss aside, there are indeed treacherous, windy, pot-hole-riddled roads cottagers have to traverse en route to their lakeside paradise that test the suspension of the hardiest of vehicles.
So before we get to the ten roads that made CAA’s annual worst roads in Ontario report, we’re sharing some awful roads in cottage country nominated by cottagers.
The Worst Cottage Country Roads
As nominated by our readers on Facebook.
- Hwy. 6 (toward Tobermory), Ont.
- Bunny Trail (from Parry Sound to Whitestone), Ont.
- Route 327 to Mont Tremblant, Que.
- PR #307 in Whiteshell Provincial Park, Man.
- Route 11 between Moncton to Matapédia Bridge, N.B.
- North Kahshe Lake Rd. in Gravenhurst, Ont.
- Northline Rd., Kawartha Lakes, Ont.
- Curry Rd., Haliburton Lake, Ont.
- Acton Island Rd., Bala, Ont.
- Horseshoe Bay Rd., Haldimand, Ont.
CAA’s Annual Worst Roads in Ontario Report
Photo: Google Maps
The winner (or loser, rather) of 2024’s worst road is Aberdeen Avenue in Hamilton, which took the top spot for its “potholes, poor road maintenance, and traffic congestion,” said CAA in a media release. A quick stroll down the road on Google Maps street view reveals a patchwork of asphalt and raised manhole covers along Aberdeen Ave. The road beat out over 2,000 nominations from 145 municipalities across Ontario.
In second and third place are Toronto’s Eglinton Avenue West and Hamilton’s Barton Street East, both nominated for their potholes and poor road maintenance.
The Top 10 Worst Roads in Ontario
- Aberdeen Avenue, Hamilton
- Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto
- Barton Street East, Hamilton
- County Road 49, Prince Edward
- Hurontario Street, Mississauga
- Bloor Street West, Toronto
- Cedar Street North, Uxbridge
- Finch Avenue West, Toronto
- Lake Shore Boulevard East, Toronto
- Laclie Street, Orillia
Worst Roads by Region in Ontario
- Central— Laclie Street, Orillia
- Eastern—County Road 49, Prince Edward
- Halton-Peel-York-Durham— Hurontario Street, Mississauga
- Niagara—Portage Road, Niagara Falls
- North—Widdifield Station Road, North Bay
- Southwest— Plank Road, Sarnia
- Western—York Road, Guelph
- Ottawa— Carling Avenue, Ottawa
Roads are nominated for a myriad of reasons: the most common being potholes, cited by 53 per cent of nominations; poor road maintenance, 52 per cent; traffic congestion,13 per cent, and poor cycling infrastructure, or lack thereof, 8 per cent. Motorists make up the majority of the voters, with cyclists making up around a quarter.
For 21 years, CAA has shared its Worst Roads report in hopes of influencing infrastructure policy. “We know that the campaign works. Time and time again we see roads and infrastructure projects being moved up and budgets prioritized after the road has appeared on the list,” says Teresa Di Felice, assistant vice president, government and community relations, CAA South Central Ontario. “The campaign has given Ontarians a voice to help them nominate the roads they believe are in need of urgent repair.”
With files from Annie McKenzie.