Springfield committee debates raised crosswalks and speed humps near schools amid safety, cost and plow concerns

Springfield City’s Maintenance & Development Committee heard hours of public comment and technical caution on April 2 as council members, Department of Public Works officials and neighborhood advocates discussed whether to expand raised crosswalks and speed humps in school zones.

The meeting was convened by city councilor Lavar Click, who said he had met with WalkBike Springfield volunteer Betsy Johnson and called the session to explore whether the city should pursue a policy or ordinance to require raised crosswalks around schools. "She brought this to my attention where she wanted to bring some awareness regarding some speed humps and raised crosswalks," Click said, noting the goal was to get the school department and DPW in the same conversation.

Advocates urged quick action. Betsy Johnson of WalkBike Springfield said the city should "when you work on those streets at all you need to put in a raised crosswalk for the schools," and asked the council to prioritize a list of school-area crossings. Deborah Huber, also speaking for the group, and other residents said the proposed changes should start at schools because of nearby crossing guards and heavy pedestrian activity.

DPW director Chris Signnoli agreed the goal of protecting students was clear but cautioned that technical, contractual and budget constraints limit where physical measures can be placed. Signnoli said engineers and past experience rule out installing speed bumps on many arterials and that contractor practices complicate winter maintenance: "There is no way in God's earth we're putting speed bumps on arterial streets," he said, and added that two local plow contractors have refused to plow streets with speed bumps after equipment damage.

Signnoli described a mix of near-term and longer-term work: three enhanced crosswalks are planned to be installed this year, some projects are moving through a federal SS4A design contract, and the city has used stop signs and other low-cost measures in many locations. He also detailed design tradeoffs for raised facilities: bumpouts and the RRFB beacons they often require can affect drainage and utilities, and "those bumpouts average somewhere probably $300,000 for each one of those locations." He said designers are evaluating which corridors can accommodate full crosswalk treatments versus lower-cost treatments such as stop signs or speedboards.

Several council members said past community reactions have slowed deployment. Counselor Fenton described strong neighborhood backlash after a first installation—despite earlier signatures and a trial period—and said the response has had a "chilling effect" on further rollouts. A presenter's overview of the ordinance and petition process underscored the city’s high bar for resident petitions (parallel-street signatures, neighborhood votes, council and board reviews, a public hearing and a 90-day trial), a deliberately rigorous process that in practice sometimes still leads to post-installation opposition.

Speakers repeatedly noted Springfield’s pedestrian safety record as a rationale for action. One participant said the city has been among the deadliest in Massachusetts for pedestrians in recent years, which several speakers used to argue urgency for measures near schools and other high-pedestrian corridors.

Committee chair Lavar Click closed by instructing DPW to circulate concept plans and the working list of candidate locations, and by indicating he would contact the school committee for possible coordination. He said the committee would retain the item for further discussion rather than advancing an immediate vote.

The session produced no formal motion or vote; the committee directed DPW to share SS4A concept plans and to coordinate with the school department as next steps. The committee will reconvene for further discussion and review of design concepts and neighborhood outreach approaches.