Leaders of Macon’s Downtown Business Improvement District, or BID, want to know how to better handle the unhoused population and address the needs of those living on the streets.
During its latest meeting, the BID’s board of directors approved spending $3,200 to assess individuals’ personal situations, the effectiveness of existing social service agencies and what keeps people from getting help.
“Our downtown district faces growing challenges with unsheltered individuals who remain disconnected from available social services. To develop effective solutions, we need a clearer understanding of what barriers prevent people from accessing help and how our current service network is performing,” NewTown Macon’s Chief of Staff Erin Keller stated in a memo to the board ahead of the June 25 meeting.
Property owners in the Central Business District pay more in taxes for additional services within downtown, including the Block by Block cleanup and hospitality crew that does everything from pressure washing and poop scooping to helping visitors navigate downtown.
Block by Block’s Regional VP Clayton Ratledge recommended the company do a specialized assessment of the unhoused population during a recent visit to Macon, Keller said in the memo.
Over the coming weeks, a trained assessor will spend three days in Macon to learn current trends and barriers keeping folks from securing permanent shelter, evaluate the unsheltered population’s perception of current social services, explore those organizations’ engagement processes and challenges, and provide a comprehensive survey of available services and where needs are not being met.
Following the assessment, the BID board will determine whether to expand Block by Block’s current responsibilities to include outreach to those experiencing homelessness.
About a quarter of the company’s operations in nearly three dozen states feature an outreach coordinator who maintains contact with the unhoused individuals in that city, offering snacks and assistance in getting them help.
“This is the person that is primarily talking to our unsheltered individuals, ‘What do you need?’ Because for some people, especially with their mental condition, they may or may not need immediate assessment, and right now we don’t have a (trained) person to even approach people,” Keller said before the board approved the assessment.
Even if Macon’s issues don’t warrant hiring an outreach person, the study’s findings can be used to strengthen social service connections in downtown, she said.
By early fall, the downtown BID also expects to complete renovations to the music park at the corner of Third and Poplar streets. New mulch will be added as damage is repaired following a vehicle crash at the intersection.
The BID also will conduct a survey during First Friday festivities on July 11 to identify areas that could use additional lighting.
Transit expansion, heat advisory
Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority riders can travel weekdays from about 5:30 a.m until 11 p.m. under a new bus schedule that takes effect July 7, the same day the new Uber-like Rapid Transit pilot program launches.
In extending bus service two hours beyond 9 p.m., MTA CEO Craig Ross plans to keep driver overtime to a minimum by tacking on an extra hour to each of the two shifts. The authority has struggled to hire and retain drivers in recent years and has seen overtime costs mount.
The Saturday schedule remains from 5:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.
“Saturday’s a real slow day, one way or the other, so we’re going to keep that and stay the same,” Ross told the authority board June 24.
The new Rapid Transit volunteers can ride the authority’s colorful new vans for free Monday through Saturday until midnight during the pilot period from July 7 until Nov. 1.
Anyone who can download MTA’s app through a smartphone or tablet can apply to test the pilot program by visiting mbcta.net/rt.
“The only thing we ask the passengers to do is give us some good, constructive feedback,” Ross said during the meeting.
In the first phase of Rapid Transit, service will be limited to the downtown Central Business District, Shirley Hills, Gray Highway and Ingleside.
After the pilot, $5 rides can be booked until 6 p.m. when premium pricing of $8 kicks in.
“So, it’s still a lot cheaper than Uber,” Ross said.
The new Rapid Transit vans also will be used to bridge gaps in the first and last mile for those who don’t have a convenient bus stop nearby.
Riders who live within a mile and a half of a bus stop will be able to request Rapid Transit to pick them up or drop them off at no extra charge to the bus fare.
“So, it’s going to be a catch-all for us. It’s getting people to work, to the bus stop. We’re excited about it. These things we’ve been working on for a long time,” Ross said.
The authority also saved about $300,000 through the generosity of Eric Williams, whose Prince Service & Manufacturing metal fabrication company is producing and donating 15 bus shelters across town.
Board Chair Louis Frank Tompkins noted the impact Williams’ donation will have on riders.
“I’m sure that the community and those who are having to stand in the rain, once these shelters are constructed at these locations it will make a difference as it relates to wait times,” Tompkins said.
There will be little comfort for passengers traveling in the heat of the summer, though.
Ross said their biggest problem is air conditioning buses that run 16 hours a day. Buses can go through a half-dozen air conditioner compressors during the season, he said.
For riders who can’t tolerate the heat on the bus, he urged them to ride when it’s cooler or stay at home on dangerously hot days.
“We’ve heard this for years and years and years, and we’ll hear it for years and years and years ahead, but it’s nothing we can do,” Ross told a rider during public comments. “So, I’m sorry, but they’ll do the best they possibly can. They work as hard as they can.”
The authority posted a heat advisory on its website noting that when temperatures reach 95 degrees and higher, frequent door openings limit the cooling efficiency of a bus’ air conditioning.
No buses will run Friday as the authority is closed for the 4th of July.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
