Pedestrians soon will have tools designed for safer crossing of busy Gray Highway, or Ga. 129, at North Avenue and beyond.
In a Georgia Department of Transportation “District Quick Response” project that began several weeks ago and is nearly complete, crews created larger pedestrian median islands, installed push-button signal crossings at each enhanced crosswalk near Nottingham Drive, and removed a left-turn lane into QuikTrip.
The crosswalks cut through these larger raised-surface islands that divide lanes on opposite sides of the traffic lights on the state highway.
“We’re installing pedestrian push buttons within these medians to allow for a two-stage crossing, so pedestrians have more crosswalks and median refuge, so they don’t have to make it all the way across Gray Highway in one go,” GDOT District Communications Officer Gina Snider told The Macon Newsroom in an email.
Unfortunately, the first push-button signal pole installed at Nottingham Drive was knocked over just hours after it was installed in an apparent hit-and-run crash in the early morning of Nov. 1.
While Macon-Bibb County maintains all the pedestrian signal lights and traffic lights, Facilities Management Director Rob Ryals said they would not be liable for replacing or repairing that one.
“Technically, that knock down belongs to the contractor. Once the contractor starts, any damage or anything, they have to repair it. And even after they get finished with that intersection, if there’s a problem before we accept the project they fix it,” Ryals said.
GDOT also reduced the width of northbound lanes of Ga. 129 at Nottingham, and removed the southbound left turn lane from North Avenue into QuikTrip across from Baconsfield Drive.
“The project is ‘tidying up’ access south of Nottingham Drive in order to reduce vehicular conflict points and improve corridor safety, by removing the Gray Highway southbound left turn to QuikTrip,” Snider said.
Southbound traffic may still turn left into Wilson Street and enter QuikTrip.
During Thursday’s Pedestrian Safety Review Board Meeting, county Traffic Safety Manager Weston Stroud announced GDOT also will be installing a pair of mid-block, rapid-flashing beacons at new mid-block crosswalks in the heavily-traveled section of Gray Highway that’s dotted with fast food restaurants south of Shurling Drive.
Similar to a mid-block crossing at Cotton Avenue Plaza and Second Street, a pedestrian can push a button to activate lights on a pedestrian crossing sign to alert motorists to stop and allow the person to safely cross.
Stroud also said the Federal Highway Administration approved the agreement that will provide more than $7 million for the pending “East Loop” project with $5.6 million coming from the federal government and $1.4 million in matching funds from Macon-Bibb County.
Over the next year, the environmental assessments mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act should be completed for the project that includes a mile of new
— 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.
