Burlington Street not as bad as some claim, councillor says

Hamilton's Burlington Street has earned a bad rap, appearing the most times on CAA's list of Ontario's Worst Roads and managing to top the list for the second year in a row in 2018.

But Coun. Sam Merulla says the city has done the best it can to improve the road and that approximately $30 million is planned for investmentsin projects for Burlington Street and Industrial Drive until 2027.

"We have budgeted the necessary capital upgrades to move forward to ensure that it's not perceived or is the worst street from an infrastructure standpoint in Ontario," Merulla told CBC News.

"Over the years, we have been gradually and incrementally dealing with each and every issue as they are before us."

He says the road was once one of the most used industrial streets in Canada, but traffic has decreased in recent decades. The area has also seen some other unique challenges over the years.

"The bump here and there wasn't much of a concern for a number of years compared to, for instance, flooding basements," he added.

"We allocated based on necessity, and we dealt with the crises that we were faced with on a priority basis. We no longer have flooding in our basements, but we do have a few potholes."

Driving the worst stretches of Burlington Street East

10 years ago

Duration 1:02

Here's what Burlington Street East looked like when it was voted the fifth-worst road in Ontario in the Canadian Automobile Association annual list back in 2014. It made the list again this year, but this time it finished first.

Potholes are '1st-world problem,' Merulla says

Merulla has taken the CAA's list with a grain of salt and doesn't believe the road is as bad as some say.

"It's so subjective. I don't believe in those type of polls. It really is nonsense. I've been in some parts of this province and seen much worse roads," he said.

"There are sections of it that need some work, but to suggest that in anyway it's one of the worst in Ontario, that's a pretty significant stretch."

The biggest problem Merulla says Burlington Street is facing isn't potholes but rather drivers who travel down the road too quickly.

"People need to slow down, relax and understand that we are all doing the best that we can with the circumstances," he said.