WINNIPEG — Ron Anderson’s window company has been located on St. James Street for over 20 years.
“We avoid St. James like the plague because the odds of a sealed unit or glass surviving is quite remote,” Anderson said Tuesday.
Delivering windows through pot hole covered roads is nearly impossible. Drivers are forced to take alternate routes like Route 90 or Notre Dame.
“You get people calling a month later saying we have a stress crack in the window and you think, ‘Oh did we go down St. James?’” Anderson added.
CAA Manitoba kicked off the 4th annual Worst Roads Campaign Tuesday, and within hours St.James had taken an early lead. Others topping the list include Ness Avenue, Empress Street, and Pembina Highway.
READ MORE: CAA Manitoba opens voting for worst road of 2015
“I certainly hope they find a way to improve their ability to move through and get our roads fixed because if we’re talking about a few blocks a year we need more progress,” CAA President Mike Mager said Tuesday during the campaign launch.
City staff are quick to point out that progress is moving in the right direction. In the city’s budget for 2015, $103 million dollars has been dedicated to city infrastructure projects.
“It appears to be going slowly, but we’re trying to balance a safe travelling environment with the least possible disruptions to the area,” the city of Winnipeg’s Lester Deane explained.
There has already been a commitment from the city for an additional $7 million dollars for both 2016 and 2017 for St. James improvements, but Ron Anderson isn’t waiting for the road improvements.
“It’s just one of the issues with being a Winnipegger, living in Winnipeg is dealing with crappy roads,” Anderson said, adding “In the 20 years that I’ve been here, I can’t remember St. James not being the worst road in the city.”
With major events coming to Winnipeg this year like the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Grey Cup, CAA says the first impression to tourists get is a ride on our crumbling streets.
“I feel I want to apologize to those people, apologize and say we’re really sorry the roads are so bad,” Mager added.
Deane said the city’s priority is improving major routes that tourists will travel on.
“We’re actively pursuing a plan to improve the serviceability from the airport into event areas so people visiting will have a great first impression.”
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