REGINA - The City of Estevan is among the communities in southeast Saskatchewan to receive funding through the provincial Traffic Safety Fund.
Estevan will receive $40,000 for traffic and pedestrian light upgrades.
Also receiving support were the RM of Browning, $26,033 for speed awareness for vulnerable areas; the Village of Frobisher will receive $16,019 for traffic safety signs; the RM of Moose Creek will receive $12,060 for a speed safety project; the Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation received $4,063 for Ochagu Chante Washte – Good Heart Road; and the Village of Roche Percee will receive $11,539 for a speed awareness project.
No other details on the projects were immediately available.
A total of 98 applications across 92 Saskatchewan communities will benefit from traffic safety initiatives. Communities will receive grants ranging from $502 to $53,685, for a total of $1.18 million.
The funding will help communities manage speed, improve school zone safety, and install pedestrian crosswalks in rural, urban and Indigenous communities across the province.
"The Provincial Traffic Safety Fund Grant program is incredibly important in funding projects to improve safety on Saskatchewan roads," said Don Morgan, the minister responsible for SGI. "I'd like to thank all communities for applying, and for the work they do to reduce traffic collisions, injuries and fatalities in our province."
Provincial Traffic Safety Fund grants are awarded to communities twice a year, using a portion of the proceeds from Photo Speed Enforcement (PSE) in the province.
Since the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund was established in 2019, a total of 407 community traffic safety projects have now been funded, totalling nearly $5 million.
Eligible traffic safety initiatives (including projects, equipment, programs, and public awareness) must focus on one of the specified priority areas: speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, occupant protection and intersection safety.
Submissions are evaluated by a PSE Committee made up of representatives from the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the Prince Albert Grand Council, the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Highways, and SGI.
Applicants must submit a well-defined action plan as well as specific, measurable traffic safety objectives and evidence-based information.
The Provincial Traffic Safety Fund Grant program started accepting applications for the next round of Traffic Safety Fund grants on Jan. 1. The deadline for applications is March 31. For more information, visit SGI's website.
