Shire of Chapman Valley secures $5000 seed grant to help research how to improve local road safety

The Shire of Chapman Valley has secured funding from the State Government for research into road safety issues surrounding Geraldton. The seed grant of $5000 will be allocated to the Shire as part of the Streets Alive scheme, which aims to help communities improve road safety at a grassroots level. More than $299,000 in grants have been awarded to 61 successful applicants from the Kimberley to the Great Southern in the first round of the scheme. Road Safety Minister David Michael said: “This was the first Streets Alive funding round, offering $5000 per grant, so it was pleasing to receive 87 applications from communities who want to make their roads safer and their town centres more connected and vibrant.” “Speed reduction projects that are facilitated by people for their own local community are successful in slowing traffic and protecting pedestrians and cyclists.” The first round of Streets Alive funding aimed to build the capacity of communities to conduct research, enabling them to change local attitudes and behaviour around speed. The program’s first round of grant recipients included local governments, community groups, school P&Cs, community resource centres and town teams. The next round of Streets Alive grants, which will fund street transformations up to $100,000 each, is due to open in August.