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A number of Saskatchewan communities are set to share $750,000 in grants from the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund for road safety projects.
In total, 66 communities are getting funding for 70 projects. The grants range from $547 (for a speed management project in Torquay) to $72,300 (for the installation of “Prepare to Stop When Flashing” signals in Battleford).
Other projects include the installation of speed signs, speed bumps and pedestrian crosswalk lights as well as the removal of foliage to improve sight lines. A complete list of the projects appears below.
“Everyone in Saskatchewan benefits from safer roads in our communities,” Minister Responsible for SGI Don Morgan said in a media release.
“The communities who applied know their roads better than anyone, and the provincial government is pleased to assist their efforts to improve traffic safety. The next intake for applications begins in January, and I encourage other municipalities and Indigenous lands or territories to consider applying.”
The Provincial Traffic Safety Fund grants are taken from the proceeds of photo speed enforcement (PSE) in Saskatchewan. Since the program’s inception in 2019, 197 projects have been approved at a cost of more than $2.25 million.
Representatives from the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the Prince Albert Tribal Council, the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Highways, and SGI comprise the committee that examines the applications.
“In order to be eligible for a Provincial Traffic Safety Fund grant, a proposed initiative must target specific concerns, including statistics to support how the project would address concerns regarding injuries, deaths, and collision,” the government said in the release.
“Applicants must also include a well-defined action plan with specific, measurable objectives and must demonstrate that previous measures to address those safety concerns have been unsuccessful.”
The committee is to start accepting applications for the next round of grants — as well as applications for new PSE camera locations — on Friday. The application deadline isMarch 31.
