Paving the way for safety
As Macon-Bibb County seeks to spend $50 million on top of $15 million already spent to repave roads, advocates see a great opportunity for safety improvements.
During Tuesday’s Complete Streets committee meeting, Bike Walk Macon’s Rachel Umana reminded the committee that an ordinance passed in 2021 requires a design review during road work to make sure the street meets the needs of all those who use it, not just motorists.
Umana wants the committee to review the roads set for repaving to determine if new striping or other design elements such as bollards could slow traffic and enhance pedestrian safety.
“I just think this is a huge time where, like, we’re seeing real investment in our roads, and can make a big difference while it’s happening, versus going back later and trying to retrofit something later on,” Umana said.
Assistant County Attorney Adriana Beavers said the final list of paving priorities has yet to be compiled after the county contracted with Street Scan to assess conditions earlier this year, but the county is trying to expedite road work that has been neglected in recent decades.
“So I don’t know how essentially the need for less speed is going to play into the need for speed, but I will bring that back up,” Beavers said.
During the meeting, Beaver sent messages reminding the mayor and county manager of the ordinance, and the Pedestrian Safety Review Board approved sending a formal recommendation to mayor and commission that the county align the repaving project with the Complete Streets ordinance to consider pedestrian safety during the work.
Traffic Safety Manager Weston Stroud informed both boards that he will compile a street design manual to provide road enhancement options based on the dimensions and characteristics of the roadway.
“Right now, every time that a street is eligible to be resurfaced or repaved, we have to go through a somewhat extensive process of looking at, you know, how wide it is, coming up with some design options for it,” Stroud said.
The process currently involves several people to evaluate, but a manual would simplify choices based on road specifications that will be readily available through online databases, Stroud said.
Facilities Management Director Rob Ryals endorsed the manual concept.
“That would be an excellent instrument for whether it’s a single or a couple of roads project, or a huge project like the resurfacing project,” Ryals said.
$5+M in grants coming with Trump-era tweaks
Macon-Bibb County has tentative approval for millions of dollars in federal Safe Streets and Roads For All grants after applying in 2023 and 2024, but some tweaks are necessary after the change in presidential administrations put the money on hold, Stroud said.
The funding mechanism had been under former President Biden’s $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but now falls under Trump’s Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act. Stroud said.
Over recent years, Stroud has dealt with several different federal staff members for the projects but sees the end in sight.
From the latest communication, he must resubmit the application by May 27 and scrub references to racial equity outcomes, barriers to opportunity, climate change and environmental justice impacts to access the funds.
“It sucks that it took so long to get to this point, but it’s a positive point,” Stroud said.
In 2023, Stroud first applied for $4 million for east Macon improvements around Gray Highway, but was slated to receive $400,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation, instead.
He did more research and expanded the original application in 2024 to apply for more than $5 million for the Gray Highway/East Loop project that will enhance sidewalks near Wood Valley Road and add a multi-purpose trail that could eventually connect to NewTown Macon’s Ocmulgee Heritage Trail from North Highlands Park.
No timetable has been set, but Stroud said the clock will start once the revised application gets final approval.
With matching grant funds from Macon-Bibb, there will be about $7 million to improve pedestrian safety on the east side.
The $400,000 grant combined with county funds will result in about $500,000 to fund the street design manual and revise the Vision Zero policy that aims to eliminate traffic injuries and fatalities by 2040.
The review board also learned the county recently installed more flashing lights at crosswalks including at Oglethorpe and Adams streets and at the Cotton Avenue Plaza on Second Street. The board allocated about $28,000 to enhance nearly 50 crosswalks in the county with lights and signs.
New employee parking proposal
When Park Macon takes parking scofflaws to court for unpaid fines, the case typically involves downtown employees who ignore tickets after parking on the street without paying or violating the 3-hour limit.
Urban Development Authority Operations Manager Margaret Peth is exploring options for creating a new downtown employee parking program that provides discounted monthly rates to park in the Mulberry Street Parking garage.
Under one proposal shared with the Parking Advisory Board, a business owner could request monthly parking passes assigned to employees’ license plate numbers.
It would be the employer’s responsibility to update that information if a worker leaves the job and the pass would be discontinued or transferred to a new tag number.
Currently, there is ample room in the Mulberry parking deck and similar programs could be implemented in new parking decks expected to be built in the coming years, including one under construction behind City Hall, Peth said.
She scanned other urban parking programs, but did not find a similar policy anywhere else.
“We would be unique as a municipality in offering this,” Peth said.
Her next step is to conduct small focus groups to float the concept among business owners and workers.
“Employers may not be thinking about helping their employees get parking,” Peth said. “But it’s ultimately bad for businesses if employees are parking in front of them all day.”
Safety in the deck has been a concern for some workers she talked to.
“The reality is the garage does not have a higher instance of crime,” she said. “It’s not the case that the garage is more dangerous.”
Peth said there are ways to improve “the feeling of safety,” and she believes increased usage of the parking deck will be an added deterrent against mischief, vandalism and crime.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
