The City of Estevan and other communities in southeast Saskatchewan are among 66 from across Saskatchewan to be approved for grants totalling $750,000 from the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund.
A total of 70 road safety improvement projects were approved, with grants ranging from $547 to $72,300.
The City of Estevan received $13,563 to promote pedestrian safety. The money will be used to install a lighted pedestrian crosswalk at an existing crosswalk on 13th Avenue near Dairy Queen, which is a high-volume area.
Also, the Town of Arcola received $7,000 for speed signs; the RM of Benson received $7,035 for a speed sign within the hamlet of Benson; the RM of Browning received $6,300 for removal of vegetation to improve sightlines; the Village of Carievale received $6,784 for speed bumps and a solar-powered speed display; and the Village of Gainsborough received $6,784 for speed reader signs and speed bumps.
“Everyone in Saskatchewan benefits from safer roads in our communities,” Minister Responsible for SGI Don Morgan said. “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.”
This is the fourth round of Provincial Traffic Safety Fund grants, which are derived from the proceeds of photo speed enforcement (PSE). Since the program began in 2019, there have now been a total of 197 projects awarded, totalling more than $2.25 million.
Applications are assessed by the PSE Committee, which includes 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.
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. 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.
Provincial Traffic Safety Fund grants are awarded twice each year, and applications for new PSE locations are evaluated once annually. The PSE committee will begin accepting applications for the next round of Traffic Safety Fund grants, as well as applications for new PSE camera locations, on Jan. 1, 2021. The deadline for both applications is March 31, 2021.
