It’s a sure sign of spring when the weather warms up and Saskatchewan’s snow has melted, just in time for CAA’s annual Worst Roads campaign.
Saskatchewan is a land-locked province and has over 250,000 kilometres of roads, more than any other province. That’s plenty of roads on which to travel, which is why CAA’s Worst Roads campaign exists: To let road users nominate and vote for the roads that are a safety concern to themselves and others.
Last year, Moose Jaw’s Coteau Street West finished third in the campaign.
This major CAA Saskatchewan advocacy and safety campaign is directed at all road users including motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and passengers. Selecting and voting for the worst, unsafe roads is available from April 9 to April 29 at caask.ca/worstroads.
One vote per road per road user in a 24-hour period is acceptable. The 2024 CAA Top 10 Worst Roads will be announced on April 30. The current top 10 worst roads and campaign background can be viewed at caask.ca/safety/worstroads.
New this year is CAA Saskatchewan will award one $1,000 Shell Gift Card through a random draw from all eligible votes. The winner will be announced on April 30. Visit the website for details.
During the four-week campaign, Angel Blair, CAA’s Worst Roads roving reporter, speaks with road users living and working near five communities that had worst, unsafe roads in CAA’s 2023 Top 10 Worst Roads: Eston, Redvers, Pilot Butte, Whitewood, and Hudson Bay.
On April 9, Angel talked with road users from Eston, who spoke candidly about their safety concerns about Highway 44, which was the No. 1 worst road. Most residents were not surprised to hear about Highway 44 taking the top spot last year.
Codie Cumiskey said, “It’s pretty miserable — lots of potholes and wash boardy spots, you definitely have to be paying attention and not much of a shoulder on either side.”
Rob Swyryda said, “No it didn’t surprise me one bit – you live in this area, and everyone knows from here to Glidden that it’s a horrendous highway.”
He added, “With the large potholes and the hydroplaning — you don’t know if you are going to get pulled into the wrong lane of traffic or if you are going to get pulled into the ditch. It’s just a hazard, sooner or later someone is going to lose a life on this road or highway.”
On April 11, Angel spoke with Eston motorists about Highway 30, which was voted as the second-worst road in 2023.
According to Glenn Goheen, “We are finding we are losing customers to our businesses in the community because they are openly saying I won’t travel Highways 44 and 30 to get to Eston anymore because it is too dangerous and it’s too hard on our equipment and vehicles.”
He added, “That whole extended 30 is a disaster to travel and dangerous so it cuts back on people travelling to the regional park to use it for camping, golfing, and relaxing at the swimming pool — they have got so that they do not want to go there anymore because of the roads.”
Potholes and crumbling pavement have been the most prominent safety issues during the CAA’s Worst Roads campaigns. Cracks, general disrepair, poor signage, congestion, and unsafe infrastructure have also been identified by road users.
Angel Blair’s interviews will be scheduled weekly on the CAA Worst Roads 2024 - YouTube and CAA Saskatchewan’s social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to promote worst roads nominations and votes.
CAA Worst Roads is an online campaign aimed at drawing attention to the province’s worst, unsafe roads. The top 10 worst roads for 2024 will be shared with stakeholders including government and business leaders in hopes of sparking conversation and action. Working towards better roads and safety for all road users is a priority for CAA Saskatchewan.
