Photo radar fines fund 48 community traffic projects

Some traffic safety initiatives in Saskatchewan are getting some help — from some aggressive drivers.

The provincial government announced Thursday that it’s giving $500,000 in grants to 48 communities across the province to fund their traffic safety projects. The money comes from the proceeds of photo speed enforcement (PSE).

A complete list of the grants appears below.

“These projects will help calm traffic and make Saskatchewan roads safer,” Joe Hargrave, the minister responsible for SGI, said in a media release.

“I want to congratulate the successful applicants and express how pleased I am that so many communities are keeping traffic safety top of mind and have taken the initiative to make improvements to keep their citizens safe.”

The projects receiving funding in this round of grants include those calling for intersection and crosswalk improvements, speed display signs, pedestrian crossing signals, school zone beacons and other speed-reduction initiatives.

The province’s PSE committee accepts applications from communities for Traffic Safety Fund grants and awards them twice a year.

Applicants must show their plans focus on intersection safety, aggressive driving, speeding and vulnerable road users.

Communities that want new photo radar boxes have to show their proposed locations are high-risk or are the sites of frequent speed-related crashes, or are used by large numbers of pedestrians. Applicants also must show that measures they have tried before haven’t worked.

The deadline for applications to be considered for the next round of grants is March 30. More information can be found here.