Macon Bibb pedestrian deaths prompt renewed safety efforts

The PAUSE initiative and Pedestrian Safety Review Board are working to improve pedestrian awareness and safety after 14 pedestrian deaths this year.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)- Fourteen pedestrian deaths in Macon-Bibb County this year are putting renewed attention on pedestrian safety.

The Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office is using its PAUSE initiative to focus on education and awareness, particularly among young people.

District Attorney Anita Howard says the initiative began after a young pedestrian was killed in October 2024.

“Our youth are a small percentage of our community’s population, but they are 100 percent of our community’s future, and so we have put a lot of our resources, our time, our talents, our monetary resources in prevention when it comes to our youth,” Howard said.

According to the DA’s Office, the initiative has reached more than 2,000 adults and children through 38 outreach events in Bibb, Crawford and Peach counties.

The DA’s Office also says it received more than $200,000 from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to support the initiative. That funding helped pay for four pedestrian safety billboards in areas including Mercer University, Eisenhower, Vineville and Pio Nono.

Howard is encouraging people to stay aware of their surroundings when walking or crossing the street.

“Please do not wear dark clothing, especially at night. Please remember to cross in the crosswalk when it is appropriate to cross. Do not be distracted. Put your phones down, take your headphones off, pay attention, look left, right, and left because no one should die while walking,” Howard said.

Gregory Brown chairs the Macon-Bibb Pedestrian Safety Review Board, a group of community and government volunteers working to make local roads safer.

He says the county is currently undergoing a sidewalk scan to help identify where improvements are needed.

“The county is currently undergoing a sidewalk scan of the entire county and that’s over 300 plus miles of sidewalks within our community. And not only are we scanning the sidewalks, we’re looking at ADA accessibility ramps along sidewalks as well,” Brown said.

Brown says the review board can also help residents who notice problems with sidewalks or streets coordinate with the county’s engineering office to address them.

Howard says preventing pedestrian deaths will require help from the entire community.