SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The City`s SGF Yields pedestrian safety program is partnering with Springfield public schools to showcase appreciation for area crossing guards.

Crossing guards make sure day in and day out that students and members of the community are safe while crossing streets.

Yielding for pedestrians is an area that the city is targeting to lower the number of pedestrians being struck by vehicles.

Springfield police also created a report form for crossing guards which allows officers to look into drivers who failed to stop or yield when needed.

If a crossing guard or bus driver can provide the license plate number and identify a suspected driver who failed to stop or yield, then a possible conviction could happen even without an officer present.

In 2021, Springfield saw seven pedestrian fatalities. The city and police both stress that these incidents can happen even when the person crossing the street is not at fault.

Around 60 pedestrians are struck on Springfield streets on average every year according to the City of Springfield.

Around the country, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shared that there has been a 2% increase in pedestrian fatalities.

The city has a program called SGF Yields that is aimed at protecting and informing drivers, parents and children about crossing safety.

Public works and the police have performed crosswalk yield safety checks in the past to keep an eye on drivers and make sure that they yield when they are supposed to.

CrossSafe, the contracting agency that helps the City manage crossing guards, is still in need of crossing guards and substitute guards to fill a handful of open crossing locations.