Barton Street East declared Ontario's worst road by CAA

Barton Street East in Hamilton has been declared Ontario's Worst Road for 2022 by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA).

After making its first appearance on the worst roads list in 2019, when it came in fifth, Barton Street East rose to third last year and topped the list in the latest rankings, released June 7. Among their concerns, voters cited potholes and severe "alligator" cracking in the pavement.

While portions of Barton Street in the community of Stoney Creek have been resurfaced in recent years, sections of the roadway within the old City of Hamilton continue to raise the ire of motorists.

Teresa Di Felice, assistant vice president, government and community relations for CAA South Central Ontario, said the most flagged Barton Street intersection was at Parkdale Avenue North, where potholes and alligator cracking have been most pronounced.

Overall, thousands voted in the Worst Roads campaign this year, nominating over 3,000 roads across 182 municipalities.

Voters shared their primary reasons for selecting a road, with 80 per cent citing potholes, followed by poor road maintenance (71 per cent) and no or poor cycling infrastructure (29 per cent).

Along with physical road condition, other factors taken into account included traffic congestion, walking infrastructure, poor road signs and lack of transit.

Di Felice noted the City of Hamilton has initiated a municipal class environmental assessment for potential upgrades on Barton Street East.

Unfortunately, it looks like the detailed design for that is not set to start for quite some time," she said.

Some cycling and pedestrian infrastructure is planned in the area between Fruitland and Fifty roads in Stoney Creek and there are also plans to widen Barton near the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 8, Di Felice added.

After appearing on the Worst Roads list in 2017 and 2018, Burlington Street East has since been allocated $3.3 million for road resurfacing on the lower part of the street, Di Felice noted.

Burlington Street East is no longer among CAA's provincewide Worst Roads list. But the road still ranks at No. 3 on Hamilton's latest regional Worst Roads ranking. Di Felice said the completion of planned cycling improvements around Wellington Street and Parkdale Avenue could help roadway escape the Worst Roads list altogether.

Overall, since its inception in 2003, Di Felice said CAA's Worst Roads program has played a key role in advocating for better transportation infrastructure across Ontario.

Definitely, it gets stronger attention and action when people speak up and have a voice," said Di Felice. It's a lot different when you're one person and you write your city councillor. The whole point of CAA's Worst Roads campaign is to coordinate and collate all those voices together to have a bigger impact on decision makers about infrastructure projects."

Four of Ontario's top-10 worst roads for 2022 are in Toronto, including Eglinton Avenue West, Eglinton Avenue East, Lake Shore Boulevard East and Finch Avenue West.

HAMILTON'S TOP-10 REGIONAL WORST ROADS LIST

Barton Street East

Aberdeen Avenue

Burlington Street East

Upper James Street

Rymal Road East

ONTARIO'S TOP-10 WORST ROADS FOR 2022

1. Barton Street East, Hamilton

2. Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto

3. Barker Street, Prince Edward County

4. County Road 49, Prince Edward County

5. Carling Avenue, Ottawa

6. Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto

7. Lake Shore Boulevard East, Toronto

8. Finch Avenue West, Toronto

9. Bronson Avenue, Ottawa

10. Queen Street, Kingston