The 2022 report on the condition of Barrie’s roads gives them a mixed grade.
The report says 36 per cent of city streets are in very good shape, 33 per cent are in good condition, 18 per cent are fair, nine per cent are poor, and four per cent are considered very poor.
Or should it read that 13 per cent of Barrie's streets are in poor or very poor condition, and that 87 per cent are very good, good or fair?
Barrie has 1,583 kilometres of roads, so take your pick.
Kelly Oakley is Barrie’s associate director of corporate asset management. Her department establishes infrastructure standards, and plans for the renewal and growth of infrastructure, including roads.
“The last time we collected (road) condition data was 2019,” she said. “We use a pavement management system to store and manage the data – and in that system we are able to keep the data updated annually by increasing the condition data for roads that we have repaired, and applying a deterioration factor to the rest of the roads.
“The pie chart (see photos) is based on that theoretical data from 2022,” Oakley added. “We’ll do another condition assessment in 2023, and that will allow us to baseline the data again.”
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall said the corporate asset management report on city streets is consistent with his stance on fixing the roads in this year’s city election campaign.
“Of course, there are many roads that are well kept, which is great, but there are still areas where roads are in very poor condition, some of which are arterial roads and those will need immediate attention,” he said.
“We’re going to focus on restoring roads that require the most maintenance and repair and invest in capital infrastructure improvements to ensure the safety of Barrie residents who depend on our roads to get around the city," the mayor added.
Nuttall’s campaign literature said he will keep Barrie off the dubious ‘worst roads’ lists and create safer streets for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.
This would include a 24/7 pothole hotline, a zero pothole policy and increasing the road maintenance budget.
So what are examples of Barrie roads in each category?
Bayfield Street, from Coulter to Hanmer streets, is very good, while Livingstone Street East, from Michael Crescent to Stollar Boulevard, is considered in good condition.
But Lakeshore Drive, from Tiffin Street to Minet’s Point Road, is considered only fair. Georgian Drive, from Duckworth Street to Gallie Court, is poor, while Ellis Drive to Huronia Road’s end is very poor. All three streets are to be repaved in 2023.
The City of Barrie retains a contractor to assess the pavement condition, using a specialized vehicle that has an array of sensors, 2D and 3D cameras.
“As the vehicle drives the city’s roads, the sensors record defects on the pavement surface such as rutting, ravelling, transverse, longitudinal, alligator, map and fatigue cracking as well as potholes,” Oakley said. “The data that is collected from these sensors is then processed to identify the specific road distresses and overall condition rating for each road segment which is known as the pavement condition index.”
Barrie’s road renewal capital projects are funded from property taxes, including the dedicated infrastructure renewal fund — designed to fund repairing and replacing roads, pipes and buildings.
A significant amount of the city’s Canada Community-Building Fund, formerly the federal gas tax, is allocated to Barrie’s resurfacing program.
