The federal government has nearly $1 billion available to fund regional, local and tribal initiatives to make streets and roads safer, and the city of Shawano will be going after some of that cash.
Aldermen on May 18 agreed to pay $8,000 to SRF Consulting to apply for the next round of grant funding in hopes of developing a comprehensive safety action plan for the city. The final documentation was prepared and submitted prior to the May 26 deadline.
“Assuming that our grant is received, this would fund a study that could be into the hundreds of thousands of dollars to do a full-on safety assessment of all our streets and sidewalks and all the intersections,” said Eddie Sheppard, city administrator.
A completed safety study could result in even more financial benefits.
“When you have a safety action plan, you become eligible for a significant amount of federal and state dollars that you’re not otherwise eligible for,” Sheppard said. “So, when we identify these locations — for instance, intersections that we want to look at controlling with a roundabout or some kind of traffic control — we would now be eligible to apply for federal and state grants that could help fund that, rather than just having to do it locally.”
A safety action plan could also help the city when officials build out their capital improvement plan over the next few years, he said.
As funding for the grant was not in the budget, the city will pay the cost through the sale of material to Shawano Family Dentistry, which is building a new office at 3000 S. Airport Drive.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
