Who we are

Good Roads is a municipal association concerned with the quality and design of roads in Ontario. We have been devoted to the cause of better roads since 1894. Originally known as the Ontario Good Roads Association (and still using that name corporately), our members include most of Ontario’s municipalities and a growing number of First Nations as well as dozens of affiliated corporate members in the transportation and infrastructure sectors.

Portrait of Thomas Barakat

Thomas heads our government relations initiatives. He never takes his eye off emerging regulations and regulatory updates. Our policy practices and advocacy at Queen’s Park are in his capable hands.

Portrait of Andrew Blackburn

Andrew is well-versed in the public policy development process and knows the key players involved. He analyzes, dissects, and interprets everything government-related and advances municipal infrastructure and transportation interests.

Portrait of Scott Butler

Scott’s career has been a deliberate and methodical immersion into the world of building better communities. In August 2020, Scott became the tenth Good Roads’ Executive Director in the history of the organization. Through training, advocacy and research, Scott leads a team that has focused on everything roads since 1894. Prior to this, Scott served as OGRA’s government relations lead for 10 years.

Portrait of Kyla Di Perna

Kyla creates effective and engaging educational materials and experiences by applying principles of learning and design. She uses a variety of technologies and media to deliver high-quality instructional courses to enhance learning outcomes.

Portrait of Rayna Gillis

Rayna, who has been with Good Roads for over two decades, has a wealth of experience serving our municipal and corporate members. Accountable for all accounting at Good Roads, she is also the President and CEO of 1894 Inc.

Portrait of Ana Krasulja

Ana is responsible for all our corporate membership and keep us in check with payments and record keeping data. Whether you want to register for a course or have questions about membership, Ana will deftly point you in the right direction.

Portrait of Jared LeMay

Jared maintains the visual integrity of the Good Roads brand and sub-brands, including ongoing design work on our website and for our events. He also designs our magazine, email campaigns, and career postings while heading up the Good Roads Podcast. Jared is a passionate municipal advocate.

Portrait of Lingling Liu

Lingling is responsible for all accounts payable and receivable at Good Roads. A skilled number cruncher, she works closely with our CFO.

Portrait of Alexandra Martchenko

It takes a team to run the oldest municipal association in Ontario, Alexandra works with the admin team and is responsible for registration for our courses and assists our students with any questions they may have. She helps out our education department and programs with logistics and members service.  You will most likely speak to Alexandra when you call the Association with any questions and she can help you with invoices, receipts, and confirmation letters and more.

Portrait of Lesley McCauley

Lesley oversees billing-related matters including partner associations and payments for events. She is the guardian of how administrative tasks and procedures should work at Good Roads. She Sabrina, and Alexandra help the rest of us succeed.

Portrait of Amin Mneina

Amin runs The Road Authority – products, services, and technical solutions used in public infrastructure. He produces great industry research and works closely with Dr. James Smith on infrastructure research projects.

Portrait of Cherry Sales

Cherry keeps us on track. As the keeper of timelines, she’s responsible for all Good Roods event logistics, including education, conference, board meetings, and more. Cherry works closely with the education department. Deliverables, thanks to Cherry, are met with resounding regularity.

Portrait of Tracy Scott

Tracy is our virtual learning expert. She makes sure Good Roads students get the most out of their training experience by clearly outlining all course content and setting measurable objectives for each course.

Portrait of James Smith

James (Ph.D. University of Waterloo) is our authority on any type of road, from gravel to asphalt to bridge and road-related infrastructure design. It’s hard to imagine anyone more passionate about road design. So it’s entirely appropriate that James leads Good Roads’ science-based research on road building and infrastructure. James is also Adjunct Professor of Engineering at the University of Guelph.

Portrait of Carmen Sousa

Carmen oversees all member registrations, from educational courses to our conference, including invoicing and billing. She runs the Good Roads office (from the moment you walk in the door). Carmen is our longest-serving employee.

Portrait of Rachel Swiednicki

Rachel is a brand and communications strategist skilled at building partner relationships. From media relations to sponsorships, she also leads the way for Good Roads being the “connective tissue” between corporate and municipal members. Rachel’s portfolio includes advertising, brand recognition, social media designer, events, and communications.

Portrait of Eric Young

Eric is the headmaster of education and training at Good Roads. He is in charge of our learning management system and guides our team of volunteer instructors and course directors. He also helps develop course content and goals, aimed squarely at helping municipal staff members win at their work.

Board Members

Antoine Boucher
President

Director of Public Works and Engineering, Municipality of East Ferris

Cheryl Fort
First Vice-President

Mayor, Township of Hornepayne

Paul Ainslie
Second Vice-President

Councillor - Ward 24, Scarborough-Guildwood, City of Toronto

Aakash Desai
Third Vice-President

Treasurer, Township of Chatsworth

John Parsons
Immediate Past President

London, ON

Melissa Abercrombie
Director

Manager of Engineering Services, County of Oxford

Salim Alibhai
Director

Director, Capital Planning & Delivery, Transportation Operations, Public Works, Regional Municipality of York

Chris Angelo
Director

Director of Public Works and Environmental Services, City of Quinte West

Cathy Burghardt-Jesson
Director

Mayor, Township of Lucan-Biddulph

Nazzareno Capano
Director

Manager, Transportation Policy and Innovation, City of Toronto

Guy Godmaire
Director

Road Superintendent, Township of Harley and Kearns

Terry McKay
Director

Deputy Mayor, Township of Chatsworth

Kristin Murray
Director

Councillor, City of Timmins

Nancy Peckford
Director

Warden, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville

Justin Towndale
Director

Mayor, City of Cornwall

Scott Butler
Treasurer and Secretary

Executive Director, Good Roads

We are the connective tissue.

Our purpose, in part, is to connect our members to each other, to other levels of government, and to relevant companies in the private sector. We see issues through a municipal wide-angle lens, capturing both staff and elected official perspectives. We attempt to unify those interests. Our members look to us for training, knowledge, political advocacy, and answers to their most pressing problems. In doing all this, we serve the public good by helping improve infrastructure, which improves the economic prosperity, quality of life and functionality of communities.

Our purpose, in part, is to connect our members to each other, to other levels of government, and to relevant companies in the private sector. We see issues through a municipal wide-angle lens, capturing both staff and elected official perspectives. We attempt to unify those interests. Our members look to us for training, knowledge, political advocacy, and answers to their most pressing problems. In doing all this, we serve the public good by helping improve infrastructure, which improves the economic prosperity, quality of life and functionality of communities.

We stand for trusted independence.

Good Roads is resolutely independent. We generate all our revenue without government funding. That enables us to remain non-partisan, working only in the interests of our members, as we have for 129 years. Our members count on our advocacy with the province and on the impartiality of any advice we give, including recommendations for products and services.

Good Roads is resolutely independent. We generate all our revenue without government funding. That enables us to remain non-partisan, working only in the interests of our members, as we have for 129 years. Our members count on our advocacy with the province and on the impartiality of any advice we give, including recommendations for products and services.

We improve the return our members earn on their roads investment.

Every government wants their roads to pay an ROI — in dollars, in connectivity, and in performance. Good Roads contributes by:

  • Helping save billions in taxpayer dollars through better maintenance, methods, and materials.
  • Helping save lives through better road policy.
  • Helping municipalities effectively manage risk.
  • Bringing consistency to Ontario roads via unified member training, standards, and qualifications.
  • Mitigating the environmental impacts of roads.

Every government wants their roads to pay an ROI — in dollars, in connectivity, and in performance. Good Roads contributes by:

  • Helping save billions in taxpayer dollars through better maintenance, methods, and materials.
  • Helping save lives through better road policy.
  • Helping municipalities effectively manage risk.
  • Bringing consistency to Ontario roads via unified member training, standards, and qualifications.
  • Mitigating the environmental impacts of roads.

Our Brand Promise

A brand promise is like a compass. It helps you stay aligned. This is ours:

To help our members build better communities.

We do it by providing:

  • Skills development to improve the workforce.
  • Knowledge to inform decisions.
  • Networking to share knowledge and solve problems.
  • Analysis to clarify emerging policy.
  • Data and research to support initiatives.
  • Tools to better manage assets and budgets.
  • Political advocacy to further the goals of communities.
  • Insights to help anticipate the future.

When our members succeed, everybody wins.

When our shared infrastructure is excellent, everybody wins.

A brand promise is like a compass. It helps you stay aligned. This is ours:

To help our members build better communities.

We do it by providing:

  • Skills development to improve the workforce.
  • Knowledge to inform decisions.
  • Networking to share knowledge and solve problems.
  • Analysis to clarify emerging policy.
  • Data and research to support initiatives.
  • Tools to better manage assets and budgets.
  • Political advocacy to further the goals of communities.
  • Insights to help anticipate the future.

When our members succeed, everybody wins.

When our shared infrastructure is excellent, everybody wins.

Our History

  • February 08, 1894

    “… all persons interested in road reform to meet for the purpose of forming a national road improvement association”

    – Allan MacDougall, Secretary of the Canadian Institute, a Toronto-based Engineering and Survey Society

  • April, 1896

    Archibald William “Good Roads” Campbell, the St. Thomas city engineer and founding Good Roads members, was appointed Ontario’s first provincial instructor in “roadmaking” and “coordinator of the Good Roads Train”

  • 1900s – New Modality

    The dominant influence of cyclists and agriculture over the road improvement movements gives way to the Ontario Motor League and Canadian Automobile Association. In 1903, 220 vehicles are registered under Ontario’s first motorized vehicle legislation.

  • 1902

    Dr. Rolph Langstaff of Richmond Hill driving the first automobile in the region, his 1902 Model S Ford.

  • 1909

    Workers with the County of Oxford lay road drainage tiles in 1909.

  • 1910s – Good Roads Advocacy Pays Off

    Good Roads led efforts to repeal the Statute Labour Law for road maintenance. In the place of obligated road labour, Premier William Hearst establishes a provincial highways commission to create provincial standards for roads.

  • Interwar Period – Technological Revolution

    The time between the two world wars was a period of marked change. Standardization took hold and new hi-tech machinery allowed road authorities to conceive of and construct major projects such as the QEW and the Trans-Canada Highway.

  • Post 1945 – the Age of Modernity

    The period following World War II was an era of significant growth in terms of Ontario’s roadways. Spending on county roads increased 560% between 1945 and 1960.

  • 1958

    The Burlington “Skyway” seen in its final stages of construction in May 1958.

  • 1960s and 1970s – The Age of MegaProjects

    Massive projects such as the Don Valley Parkway, the Ottawa Queensway, the Garden City Skyway and the 401 are completed. A large number of local roads are open to access northern resources.

  • 1990s – Shrinking Budgets, Shifting Priorities

    A half-century of steadily increasing investments in local roads halts. Provincially imposed amalgamation reduces the number of municipalities by half. In spite of austerity, environmental concerns and complete street considerations emerge.

  • 2000s – New Age of Innovation

    After austerity, an new era of roads as economic engines return. Technologies like rapid bridge replacement and environmentally responsible winter maintenance take hold. Old technologies such as roundabouts come back into favour.

  • 2010 – The Data Age

    Municipalities embrace new ways of working. Asset management planning, connected and autonomous vehicles, smart phone apps become the norm.

Contact

If you need us, let us know.

Visit

1525 Cornwall Road
Unit 22
Oakville, ON L6J 0B2

Phone

+1 289 291 6472

Email

info@goodroads.ca