City’s pedestrian safety program receives national, regional awards in 2022

SGF Yields, the City of Springfield’s pedestrian safety program, received several national and state-level awards in 2022, highlighting the program’s performance in the areas of safety and leadership in the Public Works industry.

SGF Yields was created by the Public Works and Public Information departments and aims to initiate a cultural change in Springfield toward being more pedestrian-friendly. The multifaceted program includes Mr. Walker statue installations at various crosswalks around Springfield, crosswalk compliance assessments by Public Works staff, driver yield checks by the Springfield Police Department, engineering modifications at various crosswalk locations and partnerships with schools and organizations for educational appearances. 

In August, the program was presented the 2022 Exceptional Performance in Safety award from the American Public Works Association (APWA) at the organization’s annual national conference in Charlotte, N.C.

APWA Exceptional Performance Awards recognize individuals, teams, or organizations whose outstanding contributions raise the level of the public works profession. The 2022 award highlighted SGF Yields’ use of education, engineering, enforcement and creative public outreach strategies while recognizing the program’s success in increasing crosswalk compliance and helping to halt the upward trend in vehicle/pedestrian crashes in Springfield.   

In September, SGF Yields received the Missouri Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT) Show Me Zero 2022 Southwest Regional Award at the Missouri Highway Safety and Traffic Conference in Columbia, Mo. The Show Me Zero Regional Awards recognize an individual or group from each of Missouri’s seven regions who has shown exemplary leadership in endeavors that significantly improve highway safety.

SGF Yields program is partially funded through MoDOT Show Me Zero (formerly Blueprint for Safety) grant funding since the program was launched in 2017.

“We applaud the efforts of those who work so hard to achieve the Coalitions ultimate goal of zero roadway deaths in Missouri,” said MoDOT State Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer Nicole Hood. “This is an opportunity to recognize those who are helping to save lives.”

SGF Yields to offer “toolkit” for launch in other communities

The success of the SGF Yields campaign in Springfield has been noticed by other communities and agencies in Missouri and across the region, many of which have reached out to Springfield to share the campaign.  The City received a $46,000 grant from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Association in 2021 to create a shareable “toolkit” to help other communities launch their own local campaign. The sharable program is expected to be available in 2023. 

Past SGF Yields awards and recognition: 

- The program received the 2021 Innovation Award in the extra large cities category from the Missouri Municipal League.

- The Ozark Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) recognized the SGF Yields program with the 2021 Transportation Achievement Award. 

For more information on SGF Yields, visit springfieldmo.gov/SGFyields or follow the campaign on facebook at facebook.com/sgfyields. 

For more information, contact Communication Coordinator Kristen Milam at 573-819-3713 or [email protected]. 

Learn more about SGF Yields.