MACON, Ga. — A bipartisan infrastructure law is bringing more than $5 million to Macon-Bibb County to improve Gray Highway and the East Macon Loop, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Buttigieg sat down over Zoom with 13WMAZ’s morning show anchors Katelyn Heck and Frederick Price to discuss the funding coming to Bibb County in an effort to combat the pedestrian fatality rate which is nearly five times the national average.
The funding will address several issues on Gray Highway, including sidewalks, paths alongside streets, street lighting and crosswalks. This is all part of the Safe Streets and Roads for All program.
The following question and answer segment has been edited for brevity.
What about Gray Highway and East Macon caught the Department of Transportation's attention that made it a good candidate for this federal funding?
Buttigieg: Well, the reason you have this $5.6 million headed to the Macon area is that there is a clear need from a safety perspective. We lose way too many American lives about the same level as gun violence. We also lose to traffic crashes and it doesn't have to be that way.
One of the best things we can do is look at the places where we have the most problems and use funding to get a safer design. Now, this is something that people along Gray Highway know all too well, we've looked at the data, we've seen about five times the national average in terms of the rate of traffic crashes. So clearly, there need to be changes.
And I think residents in the area have known that for a long time, local leaders have known that for a long time, but there hasn't been the funding to make these kinds of improvements. Really basic things like high visibility, crosswalks, sidewalks, multi-use paths, basically making it safer to be a pedestrian as well as a driver along those roads. That's what this $5.5 million is going to help do.
What factors go into improving pedestrian safety and where do you see the areas in Macon that need the most improvement?
Buttigieg: A lot of it has to do with the conditions on the road, things like lighting, the ways that a pedestrian can move around ideally without it even being physically possible to be in a crash by making sure you have a separated multi-use pathway, something as basic as a sidewalk. It's not just a convenience or an amenity. It's also a safety issue that can really be a life and death issue. When you look at how many lives we're losing to these crashes.
We are now at the point where through this funding, a majority of Americans live in a city or a town or county that we've been able to support in some way with these dollars. And again, this is all part of that Biden-Harris infrastructure package. The program is called Safe Streets and Roads for All and through it, we've been able to support hundreds of communities although this funding for, for Macon is on the larger end of the awards we've been able to do with this program.
How will this plan improve pedestrian safety in Macon?
Buttigieg: Well, when you have these kinds of paths that are being introduced here, a better design around intersections and, and how they work, it makes it safer and easier for pedestrians to navigate. You have a lot of folks who don't have a car, they're on their way to Walmart or, or grocery shopping or just making their way from one neighborhood to another and they're very vulnerable when you are right alongside a busy roadway like that.
When you don't have an easy and safe way to cross, that means there's a higher likelihood that you're going to be involved in a crash. Overall, nationally, we have begun to reverse the rise in roadway deaths, but the biggest category that's been moving in the wrong direction is pedestrians and bicyclists, what are called vulnerable road users. And of course, you are a lot more vulnerable when you're just out there compared to if you're, in a vehicle.
This isn't just, there are lots of things that go into things like making sure drivers are driving at a safe and legal speed, but it isn't just about behavior. It's also about design and the biggest thing that has stood in the way of a better, safer road design too often. It's been a lack of funding. It's one of the reasons why we pushed so hard to get this infrastructure law through in the first place. So I appreciate the support we've had from leaders like Senator Warnock and Senator Ossoff.
A lot of members of the House delegation. We even had some Republicans cross the aisle working with Democrats to get this done because it shouldn't be a partisan issue. It's just about saving lives and having safer streets.
What else can people do to help make the roads safer?
Buttigieg: Our roadway safety strategy has many areas working together, safer roads, safer drivers, safer vehicles. We're even working on what happens after there is a crash, a higher standard of post crash care by supporting EMS services and making sure that help can be there on the scene. But of course, the best thing is to prevent a crash from happening in the first place. This funding is an important part of it, but we also are working with local jurisdictions.
You know, I was a mayor myself of South Bend, Indiana where I grew up and saw firsthand what it is like trying to address this issue with the tools that you have. We want to make sure the federal government is helpful in that effort. And to me that, that's not so much dictating that lines and the strategies from here in Washington, the best ideas are going to come from the community, but more of the funding needs to come from Washington. And that's exactly what we're doing in this case, with millions of dollars headed to Macon to help solve this problem.