Looking for a bumpy ride? Toronto home to 3 of the worst roads in Ontario, says CAA

Justin Chandler · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 05, 2025 4:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: 21 minutes ago

Hamilton has the worst roadworthy successful Ontario for the 4th twelvemonth running, according to a Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) campaign.

CAA's worst roads list, which has been moving since astatine slightest 2003, declared Aberdeen Avenue the worst successful the province, with Barton Street E. coming successful second. 

CAA named Aberdeen Avenue the worst roadworthy in 2024, too. According to a CAA quality merchandise Thursday, "frustrations with potholes and mediocre roadworthy attraction person kept this roadworthy successful the fig 1 spot."

Barton Street E. held the worst roadworthy favoritism successful 2023 and 2022. Hamilton besides held the fig 1 spot successful 2017 and 2018 with Burlington Street E. 

The apical 10 worst roads successful the province, according to the 2025 campaign, are: 

• Aberdeen Avenue, Hamilton.
• Barton Street E., Hamilton.
• County Road 49, Prince Edward County.
• Eglinton Avenue W., Toronto.
• Hurontario Street, Mississauga.
• Leveque Road, South Frontenac.
• Highway 50, Caledon.
• Sider Road, Fort Erie.
• Gardiner Expressway, Toronto.
• Sheppard Avenue West, Toronto.

'Reflection of nationalist concern': city 

Hamilton's manager of proscription Carolyn Ryall said that portion she hasn't had immoderate nonstop correspondence with CAA yet, the metropolis is good alert of nationalist concerns regarding those roads and suspected they whitethorn beryllium connected the list. 

"We admit the value of the study and we recognize that it's truly a reflection of nationalist concern. It's thing that we instrumentality precise seriously," Ryall told CBC Hamilton. 

She said metropolis teams are ever moving to support roads, filling 70,000 to 90,000 potholes per year. 

Hamilton invested $190 million in the proscription web successful 2025, Ryall said, including a $5 cardinal summation successful the city's resurfacing fund, which is utilized to spot up areas that are harder to maintain.

"We cognize that the metropolis of Hamilton is alert of this and they've continued to put successful infrastructure," Brian Pirvu, a authorities relations advisor for CAA South Central Ontario, told CBC Hamilton. "We privation to proceed having those conversations with them successful bid to guarantee that [funding]."

He noted potholes tin signifier much easy successful our polarizing climate, wherever the crushed tin frost and thaw rapidly, weakening asphalt. "We are seeing from definite reports that the outgo of maintaining roads has increased."

Aberdeen work in progress: Transportation director 

On Aberdeen Avenue, Pirvu said, Longwood Road S., Locke Street S., and Queen Street S., were intersections respondents flagged arsenic peculiarly bad.

On Barton Street E., Gave Avenue N., and Ottawa Street N., were 2 respondents complained about. 

The metropolis is looking to afloat reconstruct Aberdeen Avenue and marque it amended for walking, cycling and driving, but that volition instrumentality a agelong time, Ryall said, since it requires consultation and involves infrastructure beneath the aboveground specified arsenic h2o and wastewater systems. 

In the meantime, she said, the metropolis took residents' concerns into relationship and worked with Coun. Maureen Wilson (Ward 1)'s bureau connected a program to resurface Aberdeen Avenue betwixt Dundurn Street S., and Studholme Road arsenic a hold-me-over. 

In caller years, she said, the metropolis completed a $7.5-million reconstruction task connected Barton Street E., betwixt Parkdale Avenue N., and Talbot Street. Hamilton is readying to bash much operation betwixt Parkdale and Ferguson Avenue N., soon, Ryall said.

In Hamilton, the worst roads this twelvemonth according to the run are:

• Aberdeen Avenue.
• Barton Street E.
• Main Street W.
• King Street E.
• Main Street E.

In Niagara, those roads are:

• Sider Road, Fort Erie.
• Portage Road, Niagara Falls.
• Miller Road, Port Colborne.
• Lundy's Lane, Niagara Falls.
• Facer Street, St. Catharines.

How the database is determined

To find its list, CAA asks participants to nominate roads, Pirvu said. They tin stock wherefore they're nominating them and tin accidental what benignant of roadworthy idiosyncratic they are.

CAA said 84 per cent of respondents cited potholes arsenic 1 of their superior crushed for nominating a road. About 77 per cent cited mediocre roadworthy maintenance, and astir 15 per cent cited congestion. 

Most radical who submitted candidates identified themselves arsenic drivers oregon radical who commute by vehicle, Pirvu said, but radical besides noted issues from the position of cyclists and pedestrians. People nominated implicit 2,400 antithetic roads from 208 municipalities.

CAA works with the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario, which advocates for infrastructure investment, to analyse nominated roads and corroborate determination are issues, Pirvu said.

They besides enactment to scope retired to municipalities and provinces to "promote solutions" specified arsenic accessing grants oregon utilizing recycled asphalt to prevention money. Usually, Pirvu said, CAA sees those sorts of streets driblet disconnected the database erstwhile attraction is done. 

Pirvu acknowledges that portion radical privation well-maintained roads, attraction tin beryllium unpopular, with CAA members reporting vexation with however agelong roadworthy projects instrumentality to complete.

That's a balancing act, Ryall said, and metropolis unit effort to trim disruptions by coordinating erstwhile and wherever antithetic crews volition enactment to forestall radical from getting caught successful aggregate detours. 

She said radical with concerns astir roadways tin call the city and noted potholes tin beryllium reported online.