Pattullo Bridge voted worst spot for drivers in Metro according to BCAA Metro

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Pattullo Bridge voted worst spot for drivers in Metro according to BCAA
Road in Prince George worst overall in B.C. according to online vote

METRO VANCOUVER -- The Pattullo Bridge has been voted the worst section of road in Metro Vancouver according to a survey conducted by the B.C. Automobile Association.

And it's just one of four busy Metro bridges and tunnels that made BCAA's list of the Top 20 worst stretches of road in B.C. The others are the George Massey Tunnel, the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge and the Oak Street Bridge.

BCAA compiled its list based on nearly 4,000 responses to a survey that asked which B.C. road, bridge or tunnel is most in need of attention.

Interestingly, while Metro Vancouver has roughly half of the province's population, and by far its most congested and accident-prone streets, it took only five of the Top 20 spots on BCAA's list.

"That was probably the one surprise," said BCAA spokesman Trace Acres. "We assumed that we would see roads within the major population centres show up near the top of the list. But that wasn't necessarily the case."

According to the survey, the worst road in B.C. is Ospika Blvd. South in Prince George, with 552 votes, followed by Enderby-Mabel Lake Road in Enderby with 403. In both cases, those who voted said the roads were in need of repair.

Prince George officials said Wednesday they have already undertaken significant roadwork on Ospika and plan to do more in the near future.

The Pattullo came in third on BCAA's list with 242 votes, mainly due to its heavy congestion.

"We recognize the Pattullo has some significant limitations," TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie said Wednesday, noting its heavy traffic and narrow lanes.

TransLink has said it plans to build a new, six-lane Pattullo Bridge sometime before 2020, at a cost of about $1 billion.

Joining the four major bridges and tunnels on the Top 20 is Daly Road in Surrey, with 47 votes.

Acres said he wasn't sure why Daly made the list. But he said BCAA suspects some roads were subject to neighbourhood or online campaigns.

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"You can look at the results and see there were probably some people who thought this is a way to draw attention to X road in our community," he said. "We expect people got fairly creative about rallying around a particular road. There's nothing wrong with that."

BCAA's survey was not scientific. Any B.C. resident who wanted to could fill out a ballot online or at any one of the association's 28 offices across the province. Respondents could choose a road either because it was dangerous, congested or in poor repair.

Last summer, The Vancouver Sun identified the most dangerous roads and highways in B.C. based on intersection-crash data obtained from the Insurance Corp. of B.C.

That series (vancouversun.com/crash/) identified the most crash-prone corridor in the province as Lougheed Highway, followed by Kingsway, 152nd Street, King George Highway and Fraser Highway.

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The worst 20 with the rank, road, community, number of votes and main problem cited


1: Ospika Boulevard South, Prince George, 552, Damaged pavement

2: Enderby-Mabel Lake Road, Enderby, 403, Damaged pavement

3: Pattullo Bridge, Surrey-New West, 242, Congestion

4: Harris Road, Saturna Island, 147, Damaged pavement

5: Silver Star Road, Vernon, 117, Damaged pavement

6: Pacific Rim Highway, Vancouver Island, 109, Damaged pavement

7: Hope Princeton Highway, Southern B.C., 85, Damaged pavement

8: Westside Road, Falkland, 81, Damaged pavement

9: Coalmont Road, Princeton, 71, Damaged pavement

10: George Massey Tunnel, Richmond-Delta, 62, Congestion

11: Iron Workers Memorial Bridge, Vancouver- N.Van, 56, Poor/no bike paths

12: Trans-Canada Hwy Revelstoke, Revelstoke, 49, Damaged pavement

13: North Nechako Road, Prince George, 48, Congestion

14: Daly Road, Surrey, 47, Damaged pavement

15: Oak Street Bridge, Vancouver-Richmond, 46, Damaged pavement

16: West Coast Road, Shirley (Van. Island), 46, Damaged pavement

17: Domano Boulevard, Prince George, 34, Damaged pavement

18: Westside Road, Kelowna-Vernon, 33, Damaged pavement

19: Bamfield Road, Port Alberni, 32, Damaged pavement

20: Balfour-Kaslo-Galena Bay Hwy, West Kootenay, 30, Poor/no bike paths

New Westminster B.C.: The Pattullo bridge