About 12 hours after a Bibb County sheriff’s patrol car struck and killed a 63-year-old man crossing Spring Street in a wheelchair, Macon-Bibb County’s Pedestrian Safety Review Board held their monthly meeting at City Hall.
“It’s always sad to wake up to hear news like this, especially with the hard work that we’re doing as a committee to combat pedestrian-related incidences and fatalities,” PSRB Chairman Gregory Brown told the board. “It’s always difficult just to kind of wake up and hear when someone is hit on our roadway. So we just continue to do what we do and keep all those involved in prayer.”
Monday night’s victim, Clyde Haynes, was hit southwest of the Interstate 16 off-ramp traffic signal, closer to the Spring Street bridge and the entrance to the boat landing and river walk.
The road was recently paved and crosswalk markings at the traffic light have yet to be replaced, but the crash happened well outside of the crossing zone at about 9:50 p.m. Haynes became the eleventh pedestrian killed this year. A cyclist also died while riding to work.
Future safety measures in that area are planned, but ongoing construction of the new interstate interchange currently presents challenges for those who travel by foot, wheelchair or bicycle through the nearby underpass where people routinely congregate and panhandle.
Following the Georgia Department of Transportation’s permanent closure of the Emery Highway access to I-16 West, motorists entering the highway from North Avenue now have a dedicated turn lane and no longer have to stop.
People trying to cross the on-ramp are often at the mercy of drivers and the steady flow of traffic, but GDOT plans enhancements in Phases 4 and 5 of the $500 million endeavor that are expected to wrap up next spring.
“As part of the project, two Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, (RRFBs), will be installed,” GDOT District Communications Officer Gina Snider told The Macon Newsroom in an email.
RRFBs, like one on Second Street near Cotton Avenue Plaza, include flashing lights that can be activated by the push of a button when someone wants to cross mid-block.
It will be months before they can be installed near I-16.
“We appreciate the public’s patience as construction continues and look forward to delivering these long-term safety enhancements for everyone who travels through the corridor,” Snider said.
Bike Walk Macon Executive Director Kaylee Pruitt, who serves on the PSRB, was encouraged that GDOT has strengthened its Complete Streets Policy.
“Now they’re requiring that bike, ped, and transit be considered when they’re looking at projects instead of it being requested. Because used to, you had to specifically ask,” Pruitt said. “So I think that’s an opportunity for us for Pio Nono and (Ga.) 247. So if there’s any work that they’re doing, they’re automatically considering bike, ped and transit.”
Many of Macon-Bibb County’s pedestrian fatalities happen on mulit-lane state routes. Although transportation planners continually study crash statistics, correcting hazards is a lengthy process that involves engineering studies, utility relocations and sometimes acquisition of rights-of-way.
Roundabouts and walkways
Tuesday, PSRB members looked at enhancements planned for Ga. 74, or Mercer University Drive, to correct issues discovered in a 2017 Road Safety Audit.
From 2014 to 2021, 411 crashes, two deaths and 146 injuries were reported in an 0.08 mile corridor of Mercer University Drive from Oglesby Place to the junction of Columbus Road near the Georgia Department of Labor.
In 2020, The Macon Newsroom reported GDOT committed to installing two Mercer University Drive roundabouts — a four-legged, multi-lane one at Anthony and Burton roads, and a three-legged, multi-lane one near the Labor Department in Unionville.
The Anthony/Burton intersection alone had 160 crashes, an average of 32 per year — a rate that is nine times higher than similar intersections which experience 3.8 crashes annually, according to the audit summary.
The $9 million project that is receiving some federal funding is currently in the utility relocation and construction phase with no completion date set.
While the roundabouts primarily address the collision rate, preliminary pedestrian safety improvement plans include contractor options for either RRFBs or Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons to permit safe crossing near the roundabouts. The hybrid beacon equipment allows people to press a button to initiate yellow lights that turn red to stop traffic.
Nearly seven years ago, GDOT installed hybrid beacons on Eisenhower Parkway near Murphey Homes and on College Street at Alexander II Magnet School and Tattnall Square Park.
Macon-Bibb County Facilities Management Director Rob Ryals warns folks to be extra careful using them.
“They can give a false sense of security,” Ryals said, as drivers can overlook the red light and fail to stop because it’s not a regular traffic signal.
GDOT also plans to reconfigure the traffic light at Oglesby Place, add a 12-foot-wide median from that corner to Anthony Road, and a varied median with an island continuing toward the Columbus Road roundabout.
Raised medians have a potential to reduce crashes damaging vehicles and property by 47% and cut wrecks with injuries or fatalities by 33%, according to GDOT’s project report.
Not everyone is a fan of the medians.
After complaints, Walnut Street medians from Forest Avenue to Madison Street were removed recently.
“I know the residents through there were complaining about not having access to their homes,” Pruitt told the board. “We did not ask for those medians. GDOT just put them in.”
Instead, a new Pleasant Hill Pathway for walkers, cyclists and runners is under construction.
“They’re widening the sidewalk, adding a 10-foot sidewalk from Forest Avenue to Madison Street at that new housing development,” Pruitt said. “That’s going to be a really great connector from midtown to downtown and reconnecting Pleasant Hill.”
The historically Black neighborhood was split by construction of Interstate 75 in the 1970’s, which led GDOT to include restorative measures to the interchange project, including building the Willis B. Sheftall Sr. Legacy Park and moving the childhood home of Little Richard to the other side of the highway.
Pruitt also encouraged Macon-Bibb County to apply for GDOT’s infrastructure grants or take advantage of low-interest loans that could fund more improvements for connectivity for neighborhoods just outside the downtown core.
— Peyton Anderson Civic Journalism Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at fabian_lj@mercer.edu or 478-301-2976.