Is Unwin Avenue, near Cherry Beach, currently the worst and most dangerous street to drive on in Toronto? Those who use it every day say unequivocally, “Yes.”
While Toronto sees its fair share of potholes post-winter, drivers say Unwin Avenue is another level.
Deep potholes litter a long portion of the roadway, and pavement has been eroded entirely, leaving several vehicles with costly repair bills.
“I just actually recently had my entire front-end suspension replaced due to the potholes here,” said a man who works on Unwin Avenue.
“On a daily basis, you’ll see people here with flat tires and suspension damage,” said his co-worker Jason Jacobs.
Unwin Avenue has never been great, those who use it say. The roadway attracts hundreds of big-load trucks daily, which travel here to load and unload at a soil processing facility.
“But it’s never been this bad,” said Jacobs, who has worked on Unwin for the past 15 years. “The state of this roadway is not drivable; I would suggest anyone who doesn’t have to come here avoid this road.”
Conrad Lawrence hauls dirt and uses Unwin Avenue daily. His truck has already had to be repaired because of the potholes, but he has no choice but to keep coming here.
“It’s part of the job, I have to use Unwin or projects around the city don’t move forward.”
He says the roadway’s condition means longer trips to and from the projects he serves across the GTA.
“I can go maybe 4 to 5 km/h on this road, otherwise my truck will be ruined.”
Passenger vehicles have it even worse. While CityNews was filming this story, we saw several drivers nearly get stuck.
Simon Deboer and his partner were among them.
“I thought we were going to lose our car back there,” he said after getting through the roughest portion of the street.
Jacobs says he has witnessed several passenger vehicles needing to be towed while using the roadway. He and several others who rely on Unwin Avenue have repeatedly reached out to the city to get something done about it.
“The city has come in, and they tried to add a little bit of dirt to try to clarify the situation that’s happening, and it’s only exasperated it.”
Speakers’ Corner reached out to City staff for answers. A spokesperson told us Unwin Avenue is on their radar, but they are still months away from finding a permanent fix.
“Recent repairs, including pothole repairs, have been completed while staff develop a plan for additional repairs this fall,” the spokesperson said. “In the meantime, crews continue to monitor conditions and make repairs as needed to keep it driveable.”
Staff say the condition on Unwin Avenue is due to several factors, including increased truck and vehicle traffic, and a high water table that can accelerate pothole formation.
“The City thanks residents and road users for their patience as staff actively work on implementing additional repairs to create better conditions for all road users.”
But patience here on Unwin Avenue is running thin. Traffic on the roadway is expected to pick up only as more drivers and visitors to the recreation fields on the street increase during the warmer months.
“This has to be fixed now,” Lawrence said.
“Or at least put up warning signs for drivers that the road is hazardous,” Deboer added. “People, like us, have no idea how bad it is until you get in the thick of it. Luckily, we made it out.”
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