Lorne Street in Sudbury ranks seventh on list of Ontario's worst streets

Sudbury's Lorne Street has claimed the dubious distinction of being the city's 'worst road' in an annual ranking by the Canadian Automobile Association. The stretch of road also ranks as the seventh worst in Ontario.  

Robert Kirwan, Ward 5 city councillor, says repairing Lorne Street remains a priority, but he says he isn't concerned by the road's poor ranking.

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"Does it mean anything in the larger picture? No, I don't think so," says Kirwan, who also chairs the city's operations committee. "Some of the roads like Lorne Street — it's not just the surface that has to be replaced. it's the infrastructure under the roads. So, it's a very complex approach."

Professional drivers ask to avoid Lorne Street

Maintenance worker Denis Vachon disagrees with Kirwan's assessment. He relies on a truck to get around on a daily basis and says the conditions of the city's roads are so bad, that his company spends an average of $2,000 a year on vehicle repairs.

"10 out of 10, [Lorne Street] is one of the worst roads you could ever drive on," says Vachon. "Front-end of cars and trucks get damaged bad."

Sharon Flinn, co-owner of Lockerby Taxi, says her drivers constantly have to drive on the outside lane on Lorne Street to avoid potholes.

"We have drivers that own their own vehicle," she says, "They're responsible for their own repairs. So sometimes, they will speak up and say 'Look, is there another car that you can send for this? I don't wish to be travelling on that road if at all possible.'"

She's glad people are speaking up, but is worried about what CAA's ranking says about the city.

"Something needs to be done as quickly as possible," Flinn says. "It gives a very poor image for our town, for tourists traveling and so forth."

In past years, Sudbury streets like Vermillion Lake Road and Notre Dame Avenue also made CAA's Worst Roads list.