North Okanagan wins dubious distinction of having top three worst B.C. roads

VANCOUVER – Pot holes, crumbling pavement and congestion top the list in the British Columbia Automobile Association’s fourth annual survey of the province’s worst roads.

The Association says motorists, pedestrians and cyclists identified 1,277 separate stretches of provincial roads they feel are unsafe or difficult to navigate.

A list naming the 10 worst has been created and the top three are all in, or around, the north Okanagan, including B.C.’s new “worst” thoroughfare, Silver Star Road, near Vernon.

Pot holes and crumbling pavement are the problems there, with similar issues identified for the second-worst route on the list, Westside Road, southwest of Vernon, while Cosens Bay Road to the southeast, grabs third spot because of concerns about safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Most of the roads on the 2014 list have been mentioned before, but BCAA says McKenzie Avenue in Victoria makes its debut in sixth spot because of traffic congestion while Maple Crescent, a residential street in Maple Ridge, east of Vancouver, ranks eighth due to pedestrian and cycling safety issues.

BCAA says the number of votes submitted for its annual survey tripled this year in what the association believes is an expression of traveller frustration and a desire to offer opinions about the problem.