MACON, Ga. — If you've been out and about in Macon this weekend, chances are you've seen some painted sidewalks or folks with Bike Walk Macon.
Its all part of Open Streets Macon, which featured a new route on Sunday to celebrate the connectivity between Pleasant Hill and Historic Vineville neighborhoods by activating Walnut St., Clayton St., Buford Pl., and Oak Haven Avenue.
According to a statement from the organization, Open Streets Macon is "designed to get citizens to rethink public space by temporarily closing the streets to cars and encouraging people to reconnect to their communities, get active, and play in the street."
Sunday marked the second and final route of the 2022 season of events, and 1.5 miles of street was closed to drivers and opened to the public to walk around, talk to neighbors and friends, support small businesses, and of course ride bikes.
While traffic on the route was blocked off, Forest Avenue, Corbin Avenue, and Vineville Avenue stayed open to accommodate cars.
Folks could hop on the route at any point, because there was no start or end, and experience the streets of Macon at their own pace.
Whether that meant walking or biking, people could explore the streets while participating in several activities along the route.
More than 30 organizations participated to bring activities along the route, which included:
- Live music + DJs
- Campus Clubs mini-festival
- Pilot Club of Macon helmet giveaway
- Pure Barre Macon pop-up classes
- Re-Cycle Macon bike repair clinic
- Cornhole, yard games, and various family-friendly activities
There was also a bike parade at 2 p.m. to kick off the event, at the intersection of Oak Haven Avenue and Delaware Avenue. The event lasted from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
During the event and also following it, Bike Walk Macon is partnering with several organizations to make Macon a safer place for bicycle and pedestrian safety.
They will host a street cleanup led by Keep Macon Beautiful, bike lane and sign upgrades, 4 AARP grant-funded artistic crosswalks at the intersection of Rogers Avenue and Clayton Street, and several other pedestrian and bicycling improvements.
Brad Coman, Vineville resident and Walnut/Clayton St. neighborhood champion, says "Open Streets is an opportunity for us to connect with our neighbors to see part of our city transformed into a safer place for active transportation in all forms, something that everyone benefits from. Historic Vineville is excited to have the opportunity to connect and partner with our neighbors in Pleasant Hill to transform this space because Macon is better in every way when we work together."
You can find more information about the program and its partners here, and you can follow their Facebook page.
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