This On the Agenda report includes highlights from recent meetings of Macon-Bibb’s Pedestrian Safety Review Board, Complete Streets Compliance Committee, I-75 Central Corridor Coalition and Macon Arts Alliance
I-75 Central Corridor Coalition
Middle Georgians living between Macon and Atlanta are encouraged to quickly get on board with a proposed passenger rail line or risk missing out on one of the greatest economic opportunities of the century.
Selection of a Georgia route is expected early next year, and the I-75 Central Corridor Coalition of more than a dozen cities and counties favors an Atlanta to Savannah line that runs through Macon.
Former Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert chairs the coalition that directed its executive committee to draft a budget for a public education and outreach campaign because time is of the essence.
On Aug. 20, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s legislative assistant Owen Brier highlighted the progress of the $66 billion allotted in President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for a national intercity rail network.
Of the 75 corridors selected from hundreds of applications, three connect Atlanta with Memphis, Charlotte and Savannah.
The Atlanta to Savannah plan backed by Georgia’s Department of Transportation has five proposed routes being studied through $8 million secured from Ossoff’s office and matched by GDOT. Only one of those lines comes through Macon.
“It can literally bring the world to Middle Georgia if you’d get off a plane at Hartsfield-Jackson and get on the train down to Macon. Hot Dog! We’re cooking then,” an excited Reichert told reporters.
Options for other Atlanta to Savannah routes go through Athens or Augusta, or a combination of both, and a direct line from Atlanta to Savannah where no current infrastructure exists but would run near Milledgeville and Statesboro.
GDOT is conducting a survey related to travel within Georgia that takes 5-10 minutes to complete at https://atlsavpassrail-gdot.hub.arcgis.com/.
Pedestrian Safety Review Board
. The August meeting of Macon-Bibb County’s Pedestrian Safety Review Board occurred about 12 hours after a 39-year-old woman was hit and killed on Ga. 247 near McMillan Drive.
Bibb County Sheriff’s Captain Scott Davis said pedestrian fatalities have more than doubled year-to-date over last year, including three on Interstate 75.
Davis sees education on traffic laws essential to reducing deaths. No one should be walking on the interstate, he said.
“You have no lawful, legal reason to be a pedestrian on an interstate,” Davis said. “These are not vehicles that left the roadway and struck someone. This is clear, pedestrians in a lane of travel.”
Pedestrians don’t always have the right of way at crosswalks, either, as they must obey traffic signals, he said. State law dictates that drivers must yield to pedestrians who are already in a crosswalk, but people should not step into the road in front of an oncoming vehicle and expect it to stop.
The PSRB voted to launch a procurement process for vendors and set aside up to $150,000 for a pilot program for audible pedestrian signals that help the visually impaired cross streets safely.
Macon-Bibb’s Transportation Safety Manager Weston Stroud said he’s still waiting back to hear about next steps on Safe Streets and Roads for All, or SS4A, grants. One recently revised application funds an east Macon loop of sidewalks that would include Gray Highway near Walmart and onto Clinton Road. The other proposal would help fund a safe streets design manual that could provide templates for safety enhancements based on the size of the road and other factors.
The board plans a Safety Summit on Oct. 1.
Complete Streets Compliance Committee
After Macon-Bibb County altered its code to restructure the Complete Streets Compliance Committee, the board met Aug. 19 and agreed to draft new policies and procedures.
The committee’s primary role now is to examine requests from the public and make recommendations to the county manager within 30 days, although they only meet quarterly. The committee is considering bi-monthly or special-called meetings to better handle requests in a timely manner.
County staff is now solely responsible for determining the economic and structural feasibility of requests and ensuring compliance to the Complete Streets policy that mandates the county design roads for all modes of travel.
The county stripped non-voting members from local organizations from the board, but they are encouraged to still participate by submitting requests and attending meetings.
The revision added representatives from the county’s Parks & Beautification department and the Macon Transit Authority as voting members of the committee. Bike Walk Macon’s Rachel Umana, who helped write the Complete Streets policy, will now vote on behalf of the Transit Authority as she sits on that board.
In May, Umana pushed for the county to consider safety enhancements for each of the 459 roads included in the county’s unprecedented Paving the Way initiative.
“Repaving a road can make it less safe for pedestrians because they don’t have to slow down,” Umana said at the time.
Mayor Lester Miller called for the change in the Complete Streets board because he said he wants the project to move as quickly as possible after years of deferred maintenance.
Arts Alliance honors Steven Fulbright
Family and friends of Steven Fulbright gathered Aug. 21 to dedicate in his memory the new pavilion at the Mill Hill Community Arts Center.
Macon Arts Alliance Executive Director Julie Wilkerson said the project funded by grants and public donations has been a labor of love.
“Steven loved a gathering, and we are delighted to dedicate the pavilion on his birthday, bringing people together in celebration and remembrance,” Wilkerson stated in a news release.
Fulbright, who served as a “cornerstone of downtown Macon’s cultural and economic development,” died unexpectedly at the age of 42 after a brief illness.
His career roles with Visit Macon, Hay House, Georgia Music Hall of Fame, Macon-Bibb Main Street and volunteer efforts for College Hill Corridor, Macon Film Festival, Historic Macon, Cherry Blossom Festival, Macon Beer Festival and tourism societies helped earn him a 2019 Macon Arts Alliance Cultural Award.
The Alliance is accepting nominations through Sept. 16 for the 2025 Cultural Awards set for Oct. 23 at Mill Hill Community Arts Center.
— 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.
