(file photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Ben Tompkins

pedestrian priority

Several northeast communities receive government funding for traffic safety improvements

Jan 9, 2023 | 5:27 PM

The Saskatchewan Provincial Traffic Safety Fund has handed out its latest round of grants for 65 projects in 62 communities.

Communities will receive grants ranging from just over $1,000 to $100,000, for pedestrian safety initiatives.

A handful of northeast communities were on that list, which included Bruno, Middle Lake, Muskoday First Nation, St. Brieux, Wadena, and Wakaw Lake.

That list now also includes the RM of Bjorkdale, Codette, the RM of Humboldt, Kinistino, and Melfort.

Speed display signs, crosswalks and other enhancements to pedestrian safety are among the initiatives, as the funding will help install signage at intersections and school zones and improve pedestrian safety in rural, urban and Indigenous communities across the province.

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Eligible traffic safety initiatives must focus on speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, occupant protection or intersection safety.

The Town of Bruno focused on speed limit management, as it received $10,995 to install speed display signs around school zones, playgrounds and other high-risk areas to improve the safety of vulnerable road users within the town.

The Village of Middle Lake received $2,250 to install solar-powered blinker signs in the school zone area to improve traffic safety, which town administrators deemed as speed management-school zone safety.

As for Muskoday First Nation, their project was Cree language traffic safety signs to install stop, speed limit, and other traffic signs in Cree to reduce potential collisions and injuries within the community. They received a grant of $4,233 to aid with this project.

For the Town of St. Brieux, they focused on crosswalks, as $7,390 was given to them to install amber flashing pedestrian crossing signs on Third Street to improve pedestrian safety within the town.

The Town of Wadena received a grant of $16,495 to work on radar speed management for speed display signs at high-risk and school zone areas to reduce potential collisions within the town.

Finally, the Resort Village of Wakaw Lake used $8,000 to install speed display signs to reduce potential collisions within the village, as part of their radar speed initiative.

Meanwhile, the R.M. of Bjorkdale had two project titles, receiving $1,699 for speed bumps in Barrier Ford and $4,397 for speed bumps in Marean Lake. These installations were done to slow motorists down and improve the safety of vulnerable road users within the municipalities.

As for the Village of Codette, their goal is to ‘stop the speeders’, as they installed speed bumps on the busiest sections of Limit Street, Railway Avenue and Centre Street to reduce collisions and improve traffic safety in the community. Their grant was worth $5,000.

In the R.M. of Humboldt, $7,035 was given to them for Humboldt Lake speed signs around playgrounds and other high-risk areas to improve the safety of vulnerable road users within the municipality.

The Town of Kinistino was able to address playground and school zone speed management and safety, as $24,118 was used to install speed display signs, playground, and school zone blinker signs to improve pedestrian safety within the town.

And in the City of Melfort, $89,700 was given to increase pedestrian safety. Construction of sidewalks, a curb extension, permanent signage, and pavement markings were done on Hatton Avenue and Assiniboia Street to improve safety for vulnerable road users in school zone areas.

“I’d like to thank all communities for submitting applications, and for their commitment to safety in our province,” Minister Responsible for SGI Don Morgan said in a press release sent to northeastNOW. “I’m pleased we’re able to support an additional 65 projects to increase traffic and pedestrian safety across Saskatchewan.”

Provincial Traffic Safety Fund Grants are awarded to communities twice a year, using proceeds from photo speed enforcement.

A total of 557 community traffic safety projects have been funded, totalling more than $7.2 million since the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund was established in 2019.

Applications are reviewed by a 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.

All listed projects were completed throughout the 2022 year, as the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund Grant Program is now accepting applications for the next round of funding.

The deadline for the next round of applications is March 31, 2023, with more information available on SGI’s website.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 12 p.m. January 10, to include more information from the provincial government.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8