CAA Sask. returns with its ever-popular worst roads campaign

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CAA Saskatchewan’s Worst Roads Campaign is returning for another year, giving residents the chance to highlight to the rest of the province just how bad their streets are.

The campaign launched on April 6 and goes until Saturday, April 30. Motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists, runners and transit riders can nominate and vote for their worst, unsafe road at caask. ca/worstroads. Road users can vote as more than one type of road user every 24 hours during this year’s campaign.

The 2022 CAA Top 10 worst roads will be revealed on Monday, May 2.

New this year is CAA’s Worst Roads roving reporter, Dale Edward Johnson, an award-winning multi-media journalist. During the four-week campaign, Johnson will report from several CAA Top 10 Worst Roads locations from the past few years.

Johnson’s reports will be featured during weekly news releases and via CAA Saskatchewan’s social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

The CAA Worst Roads site — https:// caask.ca/about-caa/advocacy-safety/worstroads — will include a Google Map Locator that visualizes vote distribution across the province. It will pinpoint the current locations of the nominated roads receiving votes.

CAA Saskatchewan will provide weekly news releases listing the current top 10 worst roads and updated Google Map Locater results. Photos of nominated worst roads will be accepted, but residents should keep safety in mind when voting for their worst, unsafe roads.

“Please, don’t engage with the CAA Worst Roads voting tool when driving,”

CAA said.

Typically, potholes have been voted the No. 1 problem during the CAA Worst Roads campaigns. However, other issues voted and noted include crumbling pavement, cracks, general disrepair, poor signage, congestion, and unsafe infrastructure.

Saskatchewan is a landlocked province and has over 228,000 kilometres of roads, more than any other province, CAA said. That’s plenty of roads to cover, which is why the campaign exists: to invite as many road users as possible to nominate and vote for the roads — municipal or provincial — that are a safety concern to themselves and others.

CAA’s Cost of Poor Roads in Canada study evaluates the costs to motorists of driving on poor road infrastructure in Canada since 650,000 kilometres of roads connect communities for business and everyday travel for work and leisure.

When these roads are allowed to deteriorate, drivers pay the price, CAA said. This study puts a dollar value on the incremental operating costs to Canadian motorists of driving on poor roads.

Canadian drivers pay an average of $126 per vehicle per year in higher vehicle operating costs because of driving on poor-quality roads. This adds up to more than $1,250 over a 10-year lifespan of a car.

In Saskatchewan, the annual cost per driver per vehicle is $97.

CAA Worst Roads is an online engagement campaign that draws attention to our province’s worst, unsafe roads. At the end of the campaign, the top 10 roads voted on are distributed to government and business leaders in hopes of sparking conversation and action.