CAA poll picks St. James Street as worst road in Manitoba — again

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This article was published 24/04/2014 (4498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of Winnipeg’s worst streets has been given an official designation.

St. James Street, a stretch of potholes and cracked concrete running from Portage Avenue north past the Polo Park Shopping Centre right through to Notre Dame Avenue, has been named Manitoba’s worst road in the annual CAA Manitoba poll.

It’s the second time in three years St. James has been singled out as the worst. The street finished second in voting to Victoria Avenue (Brandon) in 2013.

“If you’ve driven on St. James Street in the past few months, you know why,” CAA Manitoba president and CEO Mike Mager said in a statement Thursday morning. “Nearly 900 votes were cast for this road alone, citing complaints like traffic congestion, traffic light synchronization, pedestrian safety and of course, potholes.”

St. James Street was the easy winner for the worst road in 2014. The street received 883 votes, more than 300 more votes than First Street in Winkler, which finished second with 536 votes. CAA Manitoba said the Winkler street wasn’t singled out due to its condition but rather a traffic congestion signage issue.

Rounding out the Top 10 worst roads in Manitoba is Ness Avenue (3rd) and Pembina Highway (4th) in Winnipeg; Provincial Highways Nos. 10 (5th) and 34 (6th); Winnipeg’s Inkster Boulevard (7th); Brandon’s Victoria Avenue (8th); and Empress Street (9th) and Berry Street (10th) in Winnipeg.

The point of the worst roads campaign is to help identify those stretches of roads and highways that require construction attention. According to CAA Manitoba, six of the 2014 worst roads — including sections of St. James Street — are scheduled to see some maintenance or construction work this summer.

“We are listening to what Manitobans are saying about our roads and we want drivers to have a safe, smooth ride wherever their day takes them,” Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton said in a statement.

“That’s why we are investing more than ever in our street in Winnipeg and highways across the province. We will be repaving, rebuilding and repairing roads in every corner of the province, with more than 100 projects starting this spring in Winnipeg alone.”

Over 5,000 votes were cast in the worst roads poll, with over 500 roads in Manitoba identified by voters.