MACON, Ga. — One of Macon-Bibb's deadliest roads, Gray Highway, could be getting some new safety features to bring down the number of pedestrian deaths.
Last summer, Coroner Leon Jones told us 15 pedestrians were killed on Gray Highway in 2022.
Ja'Anna White works on Gray Highway at the Dunkin'.
"I know people have got killed trying to go across this street. I know it's very dangerous over here," White said.
She said a lot of the people crossing Gray Highway work nearby. Often, they don't want to walk all the way up the road, and all the way back down, to get across.
"It can be a little hectic because everyone's moving so fast. Everybody is not really paying attention," White said.
The county's traffic safety manager, Weston Stroud, said it's not confirmed to happen yet. The Georgia Department of Transportation proposed two crosswalks on Gray Highway with push-activated stop lights.
One of them is proposed near Lexington Street by Truist Bank, Burger King, and Krystal. The other one is nearby Dunkin' and the shopping center.
"The community has been asking for measures to make it safer. And I think it's great that the state is taking so much of an effort," Stroud said.
The state is also looking at installing five medianettes that would go into the continuous turning lane.
"GDOT, they took into consideration all the different cross streets and businesses that have developed along there and that was a big portion of the design- was making sure that they could accommodate the current businesses," Stroud said.
He said because so many people use Gray Highway, they hope to balance the need for safety with people's ability to drive down the road in a timely manner.
"Approximately 40,000 vehicles a day. So it's one of our busy, busiest roads in our network. And so with that, the likelihood of incidents happening is a lot higher," Stroud said.
He said they've collaborated with the state for two years to analyze data about Gray Highway to try to improve pedestrian safety. Now it's up to the state to decide if any part of this safety proposal will be brought to life.
"I think the locations are well, well thought out and hopefully we can, we can see it happen," Stroud said.
This proposal with the state is only looking at part of Gray Highway. The county itself is looking at adding sidewalks further up the road past the east Macon Walmart. They're hoping to use the Safe Streets For All federal grant to pay for it.