SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – City officials said crosswalk yield controls are helping reduce pedestrian deaths in Springfield.

Mandy Büttgen-Quinn, traffic safety specialist for the city of Springfield, said officers have issued about 13 performance citations to violators since April.

“We’re getting about 70 percent compliance on average compared to what we see across the city at other times of the year,” Büttgen-Quinn said. “So we can say with certainty that the crop controls have worked well for Springfield.”

The chart below shows that the number of pedestrian accidents has been trending down since performance reviews started again in 2021.

Sergeant Ben Haines of the Springfield Police Department (SPD) was one of the first officers to begin handing out these warnings and citations. He said that while the responsibility falls on the driver because pedestrians have the right of way, pedestrians must still exercise caution and look both ways before crossing the street.

“Pedestrians must remember that they too have responsibilities and must obey the rules as cars cannot stop immediately,” Sergeant Haines said.

Pedestrian Tyler Matlage said pedestrians have the same responsibility as drivers to keep everyone safe.

“There were definitely some close calls downtown where people were just running into or out of the square,” he said. “This could get really crazy.”

The City of Springfield recently received an award from the Missouri Department of Transportation for its SGF crop. Büttgen-Quinn expressed hope that larger cities in Missouri, such as Kansas City and St. Louis, will adopt similar programs.

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