The Estevan Police Service (EPS) has received funding to reduce the number of uncontrolled intersections in the city.
In a news release Monday, the provincial government announced that communities throughout Saskatchewan would benefit from 27 traffic safety projects approved for funding from the proceeds of photo speed enforcement (PSE).
The Estevan Police Service received $36,000 for intersection safety improvements and signage to reduce the number of uncontrolled intersections in the city.
Police Chief Paul Ladouceur said the EPS looked at the traffic safety fund program, and the ability to apply for funding.
“We started to look at what areas would benefit the most from an injection of funding into our community, and as we’ve said when it comes to traffic safety, we’ve always taken an evidence-based approach,” said Ladouceur.
In the case of uncontrolled intersections, there were 291 collisions at those intersections between 2013 and 2017.
“As a result of those 291 accidents, 53 injuries were sustained. If we wanted to have a significant impact on reducing injuries and reducing accidents in our community, we looked at what we can do to make those uncontrolled intersections safer,” said Ladouceur.
There are approximately 80 uncontrolled intersections in Estevan, which Ladouceur said is a high number for a community of this size. He expects stop signs will be installed at half of them this year, with the focus being on intersections with high collision rates.
“We applied for funding to do the 80 intersections. We were granted in this round of funding to do 40 of the 80, so half of the intersections. The anticipation obviously is that we will apply for funding when the next round of requests comes out, looking to complete the next 40.”
The traffic safety committee will discuss where stop signs will be installed at a future meeting.
The police chief pointed out that a lot of people come to Estevan from other communities where uncontrolled intersections aren’t as common.
Ladouceur, who previously lived in Ontario, said he encountered uncontrolled intersections before coming to Estevan, but they were rare.
People who aren’t familiar with uncontrolled intersections might see an intersection without a stop sign, and think that they’ll have the right of way, and that can lead to an accident.
The EPS has also had a lot of feedback from the public, asking why there are so many uncontrolled intersections.
Ladouceur views this as a fantastic way to improve safety in the community without putting a tax burden on citizens.
“These funds obviously flow from photo radar. A lot of people see photo radar simply as a cash grab. This is a good example that the money is going back into the communities to increase traffic safety.”
Two other projects in the southeast received funding. The Town of Oxbow received $4,175 for a speed display sign, while the Town of Stoughton received $4,301 for a digital speed sign.
Provincial Traffic Safety Fund grants will be awarded twice annually. Applications for the next round will open July 1.
