Kelowna's Westside Road has topped the list of the worst roads in British Columbia for the second year in a row, the British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA) announced Thursday.
Respondents in the annual survey cited potholes and crumbling pavement as the factors that make Westside Road such a bad place to drive. Eighty-nine per cent of respondents cited those issues as reasons for naming it the worst road, and that's actually more than those who cited the same issues last year.
While drivers were consistent in their opinion of the worst road, this year it was followed closely by the BC Parkway bike path, which came second this year after it didn't even rank in the 2012 survey.
Respondents cited pedestrian and cycling safety as reasons why they can't stand the 26-kilometre bike path that runs along the SkyTrain line from New Westminster to False Creek in Vancouver, says the TransLink website.
“People think of us as being about automobiles – it’s in our name – but we try to take into account safety and sustainable methods of transportation," BCAA vice-president Ken Cousin told The Province newspaper.
Parkway users speaking to the newspaper cited overcrowding as one of the biggest issues on the trail, with cyclists, scooters and pedestrians all jostling for space on a "ribbon-thin" trail.
TransLink spokesman Derek Zabel said that there are plans to upgrade parts of the parkway this summer to increase accessibility and safety, with particular attention to dark areas under the SkyTrain, The Vancouver Sun reported.
Other contenders for worst road in British Columbia included the George Massey Tunnel to Delta, which came in third place, followed by the Pacific Rim Highway in Port Alberni, the Vernon Slocan Highway in Cherryville and the Malahat Highway on Vancouver Island.
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