The Mayors Innovation Project is announcing a new cohort of local leaders for the second annual Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety, and Culver City’s own Yasmine Imani McMorrin has been selected to participate in the project. McMorrin offered “I am honored to be selected as a participant in the second cohort of the Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety. I look forward to learning alongside peers across the country on the best data-driven solutions to keeping our community members safe.”
After a fatal hit and run in February of 2024, and an even more widely noted pedestrian fatality on July 4, 2023, Culver City is feeling first-hand the crisis in pedestrian safety. Pedestrian deaths are the leading cause of death for children in Los Angeles County. Pedestrian deaths are now at a 40-year high, and the numbers continue to get worse. The vehicles most often cited as exacerbating the problem are oversized pick-up trucks and SUV’s, with more recent models being designed to be so tall and wide as to obstruct vision.
The Mayor’s Innovation Project in partnership with AARP Livable Communities and Smart Growth America, selected 10 mayors from a national competitive application pool of candidates to join this year’s cohort.
“We are so excited to work with the group of mayors participating in the Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety this year,” said Beth Osborne, Director of Transportation for America, Smart Growth America’s transportation arm. “Mayors are essential to making our communities more livable and walkable. We hope to provide them the tools and best practices they need to improve safety for pedestrians and provide people more opportunities for active living, whether they are children walking to school or adults walking to work or the grocery store.”
The Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety aims to help mayors develop their knowledge and skillset to champion safer communities for people of all ages. Participating mayors receive training and resources from top experts in the field, enabling them to make immediate safety improvements on their most dangerous streets. MIPS Mayors also receive crucial support to build implementation strategies that drive longer-term, systemic changes.
This year’s cohort includes Mayor Scott Conger, Jackson, TN, Mayor Tim Kelly, Chattanooga, TN, Mayor Quinton Lucas, Kansas City, MO, Mayor Lauren McLean, Boise, ID, Mayor Dominick Pangallo, Salem, MA, Mayor Sean Shultz, Carlisle, PA, Mayor Ryan Sorenson, Sheboygan, WI, Mayor Matt Tuerk, Allentown, PA, Mayor John Vieau, Chicopee, MA, and our own Mayor Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, Culver City, CA.
Over the next six months, MIPS members will meet virtually and in-person with national experts and each other to share experiences and identify solutions to their pedestrian safety challenges.
Pedestrian fatalities have been on the rise for nearly a decade in the United States. According to a recent study by the Governors Highway Safety Association, on average 20 people are killed by a moving vehicle every day. The elderly and minority groups, particularly Native/Indigenous and Black populations, are disproportionately impacted by pedestrian injuries and fatalities.
Katya Spear, Eric Cova
