CAA Manitoba seeks worst road for 2014

Above: All the cold and snow this winter, mixed with sand and salt, has made a perfect recipe for potholes. This year’s brutal weather may make it the worst season for pock-marked roads, but one Canadian city seems to stand out. Lauren McNabb explains.

WINNIPEG – CAA Manitoba is looking for the province’s worst roads in what many are saying is a remarkably bad pothole year.

Manitobans can nominate and vote for the province’s worst roads on the CAA Manitoba website.

The third annual contest was launched on St. James Street, the winner of the first competition in 2012. Brandon’s Victoria Avenue was the winner in 2013, and St. James was second.

RELATED: CAA Manitoba releases results of worst road survey (2013)

CAA Manitoba hopes to shift the focus toward more than just potholes, including cycling safety, traffic congestion and light synchronization among problems drivers face.

“This campaign isn’t about complaining,” CAA Manitoba president and CEO Mike Mager said in a news release. “It’s about pinpointing the problems and making sure the priorities identified by Manitobans are the ones addressed first by governments.”

People can vote for more than one road, but only once per road. More than 5,000 votes were cast for 696 roads in 2013.

Take our online poll and let us know which road selected from the lists below is the worst in Winnipeg.

2013 Results – Manitoba’s Worst Roads (5,054 votes cast)

1. Victoria Avenue – Brandon
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

2. St. James Street – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement. Secondary: traffic congestion

3. First Street – Winkler
Problem: Traffic congestion

4. Berry Street – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

5. Ness Avenue – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement. Secondary: traffic congestion

6. Highway 10 – Boissevain
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

7. King Edward Street – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement. Secondary: traffic congestion

8. Inkster Boulevard – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

9. Pembina Highway – Winnipeg
Problem: Poor road signs or road markings. Secondary: Potholes/crumbling pavement

10. Frasers Grove – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

2012 Results – Manitoba’s Worst Roads (3,454 votes cast)

1. St. James Street – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

2. Highway 21 – Various municipalities
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

3. Marion Street – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

4. Highway 10 – Various municipalities
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

5. Molson Street – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

6. Route 90 – Winnipeg
Problem: Traffic congestion. Secondary: Potholes/crumbling pavement

7. Trans-Canada Highway – Various municipalities
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

8. McGillvary Boulevard – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

9. Loudoun Road – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement

10. Empress Street – Winnipeg
Problem: Potholes/crumbling pavement. Secondary: Timing of traffic lights