After dominating the list for two years, Prince George streets fell off BCAA's annual Worst Roads survey for 2013.
No northern B.C. roads cracked the Top 10 after four city streets were represented last year and Ospika Boulevard took the top spot in 2011.
The online survey crowned Kelowna's Westside Road the worst of the bunch for the second year in a row.
Taking second place was a Vancouver bike path, which proved surprising for BCAA associate vice president of Road Assist Ken Cousin.
"It's kind of showing us that cycling safety is an ongoing concern and cyclists see bike paths as kind of their roads and they're starting to raise their voice a little bit, at least in the Metro Vancouver region anyway," he said.
Survey results also demonstrated the beginning of a shift away from a focus on the physical state of the roads towards traffic congestion and pedestrian and cyclist safety.
"Because of the timing that we do this in, we're usually talking about potholes and crumbling pavement and general infrastructure, maintenance or improvements that are needed," Cousin said. "There's a fair bit of maintenance [needs represented], because we do this right in pothole season, but it's interesting to see that it's shifting a little bit."
The bulk of the 581 stretches of road nominated for the worst-road honour by more than 2,000 respondents focused on southern streets, Cousin added.
About 38 per cent of the votes this year came from the Lower Mainland, as opposed to 35 per cent last year. Northern B.C. generated 15 per cent of this year's votes as opposed to 17 per cent last year.
All of the nominated roads are passed on to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, local governments and other responsible authorities.
According to Cousin, all of the roads that have topped the list or been repeat offenders have had improvements made in some capacity.
"I can't say our survey makes these things happen, but it certainly does bring, perhaps, some added to attention to them and helps keep focus," he added. "Improving road safety is one of our top priorities. We appreciate those who helped us identify the unsafe and troublesome roads and we appreciate the opportunity to share them with the decision makers out there."
The 2013 Top 10 BCAA worst roads are:
n Westside Road in Kelowna - potholes/crumbling pavement
n BC Parkway (bike path) in Vancouver - pedestrian/cycling safety
n George Massey Tunnel in Richmond - traffic congestion
n Pacific Rim Highway Port Alberni - potholes/crumbling pavement
n Vernon Slocan Highway in Cherryville - potholes/crumbling pavement
n Island Highway in Malahat - traffic congestion
n Indian River Drive in North Vancouver - potholes/crumbling pavement
n Sea-to-Sky Highway in Pemberton - potholes/crumbling pavement
n Harris Road in Saturna Island - potholes/crumbling pavement
n Todd Road in Kamloops - pedestrian/cycling safety
