The headlines constantly tell of partisan quarrelling and major challenges to our nation. We small-town mayors must stay focused on the basics, however, and here in Lake City, nothing ranks higher than street safety. It’s crucial that our residents can walk, bike and drive to get where they need to go.
South Carolina has a poor traffic-safety record. We are tied for the second-highest rate of traffic fatalities per 100,000 vehicle miles, trailing only Mississippi.
Lake City is a hub between larger municipalities on U.S. Highway 378, which many South Carolinians use to reach Myrtle Beach. Or they might see our town as a brief delay on U.S. Highway 52 between Florence and Charleston. One reason we need safer streets is that many drivers fail to slow down as they pass through.
The good news is that traffic fatalities nationwide are dropping, albeit very slightly. South Carolina has seen some modest improvement recently, too, but it’s not nearly enough. For instance, our number of traffic deaths per 100,000 miles driven is slightly higher (1.7) than it was in 2014 (1.6). We also had more traffic fatalities per capita.
We must do better.
Fortunately, Lake City recently received a $176,000 Safe Streets for All grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, part of the big infrastructure package passed by Congress a few years ago. We stayed active and focused to retain our award—and to see it through.
Granted, $176,000 may not sound like a huge sum. But it will enable us to plan ways to make our roads and sidewalks safer. We hope to later leverage this grant for a larger sum to implement the plans.
It is not easy for towns to navigate federal grant opportunities, or to write successful applications in this competitive process. Small places like ours lack the large, experienced staff that bigger cities have. So, we turned to the Local Infrastructure Hub as a partner. Led by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the national initiative offers pro-bono grant-writing bootcamps and trainings with infrastructure leaders for municipalities seeking federal funds. Supporters include the Ballmer Group, Emerson Collective, Ford Foundation, Waverly Street Foundation and The Kresge Foundation. Its partners include the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, and Results for America.
The consortium has provided expert assistance and hands-on technical support to more than 2,400 municipalities nationwide, including more than 1,200 municipalities like ours: those with 150,000 or fewer residents.
Our city benefitted tremendously. Local Infrastructure Hub experts provided detailed, point-by-point advice for crafting proposals that compellingly describe our town’s needs and ambitions. They were especially helpful in focusing on the data collection, resource, and analysis necessary to win.
Aside from expertise on developing strong grant applications, the program’s participants—peers from other localities—share ideas and experiences with officials from other cities. Such strategy-sharing helps civic leaders stay sharp, innovative and up to date–and to learn from one another.
I recently organized a Florence County Mayors’ Forum for the nine cities of our county (Florence is the largest municipality at a population of over 39,000, and Lake City is second at 6,000), where mayors can discuss common issues, recent developments and share insights on possible improvements.
These are good examples of towns reaching out in creative ways to access the assistance they can find, be it grants, training seminars, or smart advice. Lake City certainly needs a hand. Our population is slowly declining. It peaked at 7,153 in 1990, and now is below 6,000. Our median household income ($35,000) is less than half the national average; our poverty rate is more than double.
But rather than focus on our problems, we work energetically to grow and keep our residents safe. Collaborations to address these needs help us thrive.
It’s easy to criticize government, and sometimes it’s deserved. But let’s speak up and give credit when governments get things right and make Americans’ lives better. It’s all the better when philanthropic groups—such as the Local Infrastructure Hub—pitch in.
Here in Lake City, we are working diligently to bring investment home, but we need partners. We’re grateful to find them, and we will keep working to make our residents’ lives—and futures—as fruitful and fulfilling as possible.
Yamekia Robinson was elected mayor of Lake city in 2022.
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