Maple Lake wins federal dollars

By Brenda Erdahl

The City of Maple Lake has been selected to receive $134,576 in federal money to make local streets and roads safer, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced last week.

The grant, which was written by Hiedi Peper of Stantec with assistance by Maple Lake City Administrator Renee Eckerly is part of the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program and the money will go toward developing a comprehensive safety action plan for Maple Lake.

Maple Lake’s is one of 385 grants awarded, Wednesday, Dec. 13, to regional, local, and Tribal communities for implementation, planning and demonstration projects driven at the local level to improve safety and help prevent deaths and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways.

According to DOT, funding will help communities address roadway safety through a comprehensive approach that uses all types of interventions, which aligns with DOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy. These funds will help tackle the preventable crisis of deaths on the nation’s roads through safer people, roads, and vehicles, appropriate vehicle speeds, and improved post-crash care. This first-of-its-kind program was created by President Biden’s infrastructure law and is a part of the more than $14 billion in the law dedicated to roadway safety.

Through three announcements in 2023, including this one, SS4A grants have provided $1.7 billion in direct funding to over 1,000 local communities. Combined, these will improve roadway safety planning for around 70 percent of the nation’s population.

Wednesday’s announcement includes 48 Implementation Grants focused on safety projects and strategies, and 337 grants for planning and demonstration activities.

Minnesota communities received $1,316,576 through this round of federal funding. Other Minnesota recipients include: The cities of Buffalo, Edina, and Fridley, The Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council, Otter Tail County and Saint Cloud APO.

“Through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, we have now announced safety funding going directly to communities representing seventy percent of the people living in this country,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We are acting to confront the crisis of safety on our nation’s roads, helping communities work to reduce traffic deaths to the only acceptable number: zero.”

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