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Resident urges Macon‑Bibb to apply Complete Streets standards to SPLOST repaving program
Summary
A local transportation advocate asked the commission to ensure the county’s forthcoming SPLOST repaving program applies the county’s Complete Streets ordinance, funds multimodal safety features and publishes a paving schedule showing which projects included pedestrian and bicyclist accommodations.
Rachel Lamanna, a transportation advocate who serves on Bike Walk Macon and multiple local advisory boards, told the commission during public comment that the county’s planned SPLOST repaving — described publicly as roughly $50 million to repave 25 years of roads over four years — must implement the county’s Complete Streets policy and Vision Zero commitments.
Lamanna said the Complete Streets ordinance requires routine repaving projects to consider all users — bicyclists, pedestrians, transit riders, motorists and people with disabilities — and urged the commission to use SPLOST funds for multimodal safety features such as pedestrian crossings, sidewalks, ADA ramps, bike lanes and improved lighting.
She asked commissioners to adopt three items for the SPLOST program: a design review for every repaving project (as required by the Complete Streets ordinance), explicit allocation of SPLOST funds to multimodal safety features, and publication of the paving schedule with reporting on which streets received Complete Streets accommodations and why some did not. Lamanna told the commission that about $15 million of road work has already occurred without a design review and that low‑cost, high‑impact improvements can be missed without the required process.
Lamanna cited county commitments including the Complete Streets ordinance, the Vision Zero action plan adopted in 2017 (aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities), and an adopted traffic calming policy. She said Macon has one of the highest pedestrian fatality rates in Georgia and that many county residents lack driver’s licenses and live below the poverty line, arguing that multimodal design would improve safety and access.
Her remarks were delivered during the public comment portion of the meeting; the transcript does not show a commission vote or formal action on her requests during this session.
