U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that $12,500 in federal funding was awarded to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe to improve transportation services and safety in Akwesasne. This federal funding was allocated through the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund (TTPSF), and will be used to invest in public transportation safety projects consistent with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s transit safety plan.
“Despite improvements in the number of overall traffic deaths over the years, the annual fatality rate on reservation roads remains higher than the national average,” said Senator Schumer. “Because transportation serves such an important role in tribal communities, connecting members with essential services and outside urban centers, we must do more to improve connectivity and overall road safety. I am proud to deliver this federal funding that will help carry out vital improvement projects to make transportation safer for tribal members, and I will always fight to make transportation more equitable across New York.”
“This TTPSF funding will ensure the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe can invest in local transportation projects to further enhance transit safety measures and protocols,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Transportation fatalities and injuries disproportionately impact tribal communities across New York State, which is home to eight federally recognized tribes. I am proud to announce this funding ensure New York’s tribes have the resources needed to invest in infrastructure that will help keep our communities safe.”
TTPSF grants are available to federally recognized Indian tribes through a competitive, discretionary program. Awarded annually, projects are chosen whose outcomes will address the prevention and reduction of death or serious injuries in transportation related incidents, such as motor vehicle crashes. Transportation fatalities and injuries severely impact the quality of life in Indian country, where statistics are consistently higher than the rest of the nation as a whole.