Ottawa Drivers, It's Time to Vent
Ottawa drivers know the feeling all too well — that gut-punch moment when your tire drops into a crater-sized pothole, or the white-knuckle experience of navigating a road that seems to have been paved sometime during the Mulroney era. Well, CAA has officially opened the floor for your complaints with the return of its annual Worst Roads campaign.
Every year, CAA asks Canadians to nominate and vote for the roads they believe are in the most desperate need of repair. The campaign shines a spotlight on infrastructure neglect and, more importantly, puts public pressure on municipal and provincial governments to actually do something about it.
Why the Campaign Matters
It's not just about venting — though that's a perfectly valid reason to participate. The CAA Worst Roads campaign has a real track record of influencing change. Roads that have topped the list in previous years have gone on to receive funding and repair work, as local politicians don't love the PR nightmare of their constituency's street being named the worst in the region.
For Ottawa specifically, the stakes are high. The city's extreme freeze-thaw cycle — cold enough to crack asphalt, warm enough to let water seep in and refreeze — makes road degradation a near-annual problem. Add in the sheer volume of construction, detours, and LRT-related disruptions over the past several years, and Ottawa's road network has taken a serious beating.
The Usual Suspects
If you've driven in Ottawa long enough, you probably already have a shortlist in mind. Montreal Road in Vanier has been a perennial contender, with its uneven surface and patchy repairs drawing consistent frustration from commuters. Merivale Road, Carling Avenue, and stretches of Hunt Club Road are also frequently cited by drivers who've had enough.
But the campaign isn't limited to the big arterials — neighbourhood side streets and suburban connectors often rack up votes from residents who deal with them daily and feel overlooked by the city's repaving priorities.
How to Vote
Voting is simple: head to CAA's website and nominate or support a road in the Ottawa area. You can search by street name or browse existing nominations. The campaign typically runs for several weeks, giving residents plenty of time to rally their neighbours and push their chosen road to the top of the list.
The results are then presented to local government officials, along with CAA's advocacy for improved infrastructure funding. It's one of the more direct ways ordinary Ottawans can make their voices heard on a very tangible quality-of-life issue.
More Than Potholes
CAA's campaign also draws attention to broader road safety concerns — poor lighting, dangerous intersections, missing or faded lane markings, and roads that flood regularly. If a road near you is genuinely dangerous rather than just bumpy, this is the time to flag it.
With spring just around the corner and the annual pothole season in full swing, there's no better time to make your nomination. Ottawa's roads have been through a lot — now it's time to hold the city accountable.
Head to CAA's website to cast your vote and help put Ottawa's worst roads on the map — literally.
Source: CTV News Ottawa via Google News
