Brookdale road, Minnedosa’s Main Street on list of worst roads in Manitoba

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/04/2017 (3303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Provincial Road 353 — known locally as Brookdale road — is the second-worst stretch of terrain in Manitoba, according to CAA’s top 10 list of the worst roads in 2017.

CAA Manitoba’s sixth annual Worst Roads campaign garnered more than 8,400 votes across the province for a record 712 roads.

“It just shows how much more people are engaged in the campaign and are willing to weigh in and cast their vote to get their road recognized,” said Liz Kulyk, corporate manager of government and community relations with CAA.

Minnedosa’s Main Street South also landed eighth on the top 10 list, a better ranking that previous years, but still not ideal, said Minnedosa’s mayor, Ray Orr.

“CAA called (the list) ‘the race to disgrace,’ and it’s a distinction that we could certainly do without,” Orr said. “There are a number of streets that aren’t as good as they could be, but Main Street is the one people come into when they come into town that doesn’t leave a very good impression.”

As unappealing as it can be to land on the list, Kulyk said government officials do pay attention, and changes are made.

“We know that people’s voices are heard, and we’ve seen evidence. Brandon, in 2013 for example, Victoria Avenue was the number one worst road in the province, and it wasn’t a priority, but the government heard the results loud and clear. Victoria Avenue was popped to the top of the list and it got done within 12 months,” Kulyk said. “The government does listen …We want the public to know that this can be a vehicle to have their voices heard.”

This year, roads that have traditionally been on the top ten list have been bumped off, either because other roads have worsened or they’ve been fixed, Kulyk said.

CAA also asked voters this year to weigh in on the most improved road as well, earning the Trans-Canada Highway some acknowledgement as the most improved Manitoba road.

“We thought that was really neat, because the commute between Winnipeg and Brandon has been completely transformed in the last couple of years … and then from Brandon to the Saskatchewan border, I know that the road is night and day from where it was 10 years ago,” Kulyk said. “Because the road is so highly traversed, we’re really glad the improvements have been done, and it’s good that people recognize that improvements have been done as well. It’s not an easy feat to tackle the infrastructure that the province is facing.”

Orr said council has reached out to the Manitoba government about repairing Main Street South on a regular basis, however, this year Minnedosa’s Sixth Avenue has been approved for upgrades.

“We certainly understand that the province has more problems to solve than they have money to solve them, but hopefully we’ll get (Main Street) to the top of the list sooner rather than later,” Orr said. “Maybe this will help speed things up a bit.”

Four roads in Winnipeg made the list, as well as roads in Carmen, Ochre River and Anola.

» edebooy@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @erindebooy

Worst of the Worst

The 10 worst roads in Manitoba, according to voters in CAA’s 2017 worst roads survey:

1. Provincial Road 239 (Faulkner)

2. Provincial Road 353 (Brookdale)

3. Dugald Road (Anola)

4. Chevrier Boulevard (Winnipeg)

5. Empress Street (Winnipeg)

6. Pembina Highway (Winnipeg)

7. Main Street South (Carman)

8. Main Street South (Minnedosa)

9. Fermor Avenue (Winnipeg)

10. Manitoba 20 (Ochre River)

» Source: CAA Manitoba