Four Ottawa streets on list of Ontario's worst roads

Summary: Limebank Road, St. Joseph Boulevard, Nicholls Island Road, and Carling Avenue are among Ontario's 20 worst roads, according to an Ontario advocacy group.

Limebank Road, St. Joseph Boulevard, Nicholls Island Road, and Carling Avenue are among Ontario's 20 worst roads, according to the Municipal Roads Coalition, and Ontario advocacy group. The full list is available at www.worstroads.ca

7 – LIMEBANK ROAD – City of Ottawa

MRC Comments

    There was a local campaign to get this Ottawa road on the 2004 Top 20 list of Worst Municipal Roads. The vote total was adjusted to recognize significant ‘vote dumping’ on the Worst Roads website, but even when adjusted the road was clearly a local concern. Residents in the newer Riverside South area are fed up with the main road they use to get to work.

Voter Comments

    “Let's hope the results of this survey bring some much needed attention to the traffic issues related to the new community of Riverside South and more generally the significant growth in housing South of Ottawa. Limebank Road is an old country farming road that is now the key link for the last major growth area of Ottawa. Especially after the moronic decision to implement the diversion for Albion Road at Lester, the traffic problems for the South just keep increasing steadily.”

    “What a mess. One of the busiest roads in South Ottawa and there's no stop lights at intersections, missing guardrails into ravines, no shoulders, etc. etc.”

8 – ST. JOSEPH BOULEVARD – City of Ottawa

MRC Comments

    Narrow sidewalks, a narrow road, lack of turning lanes and potholes are a problem here, but what has residents and shop owners on the street really angry is hydro poles – ancient, wooden hydro poles and wires everywhere. Voters say this is simply a very ‘ugly’ street with poor pavement.

Voter Comments

    “Very hard to make left hand turns into shops because street is too narrow; ugly hydro poles and lines.”

    ‘The cityscape on the boulevard is badly blighted by the 60 plus municipal hydro poles that are 60 feet in length. Each has a companion service pole to carry large bunches of service loops (hydro, telephone, TV) across the street. This elderly poleline is now showing its age and the combination of poles, heaving sidewalks and unenforced bylaws makes for a real eyesore. The boulevard was voted the worst street eyesore in a recent city-wide competition. Where's the political will from the three levels of government to invest in our national capital infrastructure?

12 – NICHOLLS ISLAND ROAD – City of Ottawa

MRC Comments

    This is an interesting one – a dead end road that is the only link to residents on an island community and by all reports it is just about ready to wash away completely. Safety is a major concern and voters are worried they may wake up tomorrow and find the road gone.

Voter Comments

    “The road is caving in from underneath. The land underneath is being washed away by the government waterway. It is in terrible condition.”

    “If the municipal and federal officials don't do something about the road, it will be soon under water and they will need to build a tunnel. This is no joke! It is a very serious matter!”

13 – CARLING AVENUE – City of Ottawa

MRC Comments

    Another Ottawa Worst Road. The voters in the nation’s capital were very vocal about their local roads this year. Carling Avenue is a major east-west route paralleling the Queensway. It is simply an old road in bad need of repair, with not nearly enough capacity anymore. Typical of many of the other Ottawa streets that attracted votes this year, but the one that local residents decided to name to the Top 20 list of Ontario’s Worst Municipal Roads.

Voter Comments

    “For such a busy street, it's in very poor condition. With the giant frost heaves, pothole and protruding sewer grates you can almost feel the damage being done to your vehicle. I easily rank it the most unpleasant drive in Ottawa.”

    “The whole street is a nightmare and has been for quite some time. It is the roughest street in the city! Don't drive your old car down Carling or you will be sure to loose a few parts along the way!”

Search our news archive

More news

All the latest headlines can be found on our OttawaStart Community News page.
Older headlines can be found in our
Community News Archive...

Subscribe to OttawaStart Community News

Subscribe to our Community News feed to get updates whenever a new headline is published.

Subscribe via RSS

Subscribe via Twitter

Subscribe via email

Add your community news

As a community service, OttawaStart is pleased to offer free Press Release and Community Event Listings. This free, self-serve tool is available to all local organizations, businesses, and individuals.
It's free to set up an account and start posting your news and event listings. Click here to sign up!

Add your news

As a community service, OttawaStart is pleased to offer community news and event listings. This free, self-serve tool is available to all local organizations, businesses, and individuals.

Click here to sign up and start posting your news & events...

The latest from our blog

News and notes from the editors of OttawaStart.

Related: 30 Best Ottawa Blogs...

Follow us: @ottawastart
More: Ottawa Twitter Guide...

Local topics

Quick Links

Partner Links