For the second year in a row, streets in Guelph and Waterloo have been named among the worst roads in Ontario.
On Tuesday, CAA released its annual Worst Roads in Ontario report, which lists the most dubious streets provincially and regionally.
For the second straight year, York Road in Guelph topped the list for the Western Region, an area that includes London and Waterloo Region as well as Brant, Huron, Middlesex, Norfolk, Oxford and Perth counties.
Ira Needles Boulevard in Waterloo finished fourth on the local list, which asked people to consider factors such as potholes, congestion, poor road signs and other safety concerns as they vote on the worst roads across the province.
The other three worst roads in the area all came from London, with Adelaide Street North, York Street and Adelaide Street South rounding out the top five.
For the fifth time in seven years, a Hamilton road led the provincial list, with Aberdeen Avenue being named the worst in Ontario.
It replaces two-time champion Barton Street East, which fell to third on the list behind Eglinton Avenue West in Toronto.
CAA says it releases the list annually in an effort to provide decision makers with public input on which roads need to be fixed.
“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,” CAA assistant vice-president Teresa Di Felice stated.
The company says more than 2,000 roads across the province were nominated by drivers, pedestrians and cyclists for reasons such as poor maintenance, traffic jams and poor or no cycling infrastructure.
“Roads, sidewalks, and bike paths are only some of the things municipal governments fund with limited revenue sources,” Di Felice said. “It’s important for communities to share their view on what and where investments should be made. CAA Worst Roads is a forum to do that.”