A notorious street in Hamilton has earned the reputation as the worst road in Ontario for the second-straight year.
CAA South Central Ontario released the 2025 results of its annual CAA Worst Roads campaign on Thursday.
Aberdeen Avenue in Hamilton is considered the worst, mainly due to damaging potholes and poor maintenance.
Aberdeen Avenue first debuted on the CAA top regional list for Hamilton in 2021 and moved onto the provincial list in 2023.
Rounding out the top three worst roads in Ontario this year are Barton Street East in Hamilton and County Road 49 in Prince Edward County. According to the CAA, both roadways are expected to receive significant upgrades and are in the early planning stages.
“Timely repairs, better communication, quick fixes, pothole funds, and using recycled aggregates are just some solutions to fix unsafe roads,” said Teresa Di Felice, assistant vice president of government and community relations, CAA South Central Ontario. “CAA continues to urge all levels of government to prioritize road safety with stable funding to do so.”
Of course, Toronto made the list
Top 10 of 2025:
- 1. Aberdeen Avenue, Hamilton
- 2. Barton Street East, Hamilton
- 3. County Road 49, Prince Edward County
- 4. Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto
- 5. Hurontario Street, Mississauga
- 6. Leveque Road, South Frontenac
- 7. Highway 50, Caledon
- 8. Sider Road, Fort Erie
- 9. Gardiner Expressway, Toronto
- 10. Sheppard Avenue West, Toronto
Toronto has advanced critical bridge repairs on the Gardiner Expressway, placing eighth this year, as part of its Strategic Rehabilitation Plan. The most recent phase focuses on five bridges between Highway 427 and the Humber River, with construction that started in spring 2025 and is expected to be completed by December 2026.
Toronto’s Eglinton Avenue East was named the worst road in Ontario back in 2019. Before that, the last Toronto-area street to be tabbed as the province’s worst was Dufferin Street from 2012 to 2014. Steeles Avenue was named the worst road for two straight years in 2008 and 2009.
As for Prince Edward County, a mainstay on these lists in recent years, Victoria Road was ranked as the worst in 2021. County Road 49, third on this year’s version, was named the worst road in Ontario in 2016.
Worst Roads by Region
- Toronto – Eglinton Avenue West
- Hamilton – Aberdeen Avenue
- Halton-Peel-York-Durham— Hurontario Street, Mississauga
- Central—7th Line, Innisfil
- Eastern— County Road 49, Prince Edward County
- Niagara— Sider Road, Fort Erie
- North— Panache Lake Road, Greater Sudbury
- Southwest— Banwell Road, Windsor
- Western— Dundas Street, London
- Ottawa— Carling Avenue
Participants nominated over 2,400 different roads from 208 municipalities this year, up from 2,000 roads from 145 municipalities in 2024.
According to the CAA, research shows that 26 per cent of survey respondents expressed dissatisfaction with road work projects, stating that they take multiple seasons to complete.
Ontario respondents shared their primary reasons for selecting a road, with 84 per cent citing potholes, followed by poor road maintenance (77 per cent) and traffic congestion (15 per cent).
