New medianettes added to address pedestrian safety on Gray Highway
District 3 Commissioner Elaine Lucas and Commissioner-Elect Stanley Stewart held a news conference in the parking lot of Burger King on Gray Highway on Monday to discuss the new medianettes and future plans to make Gray Highway safer for everyone.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – You may have noticed a few changes over on Gray Highway.
District 3 Commissioner Elaine Lucas and Commissioner-Elect Stanley Stewart held a news conference in the parking lot of Burger King on Gray Highway on Monday to discuss the new medianettes and future plans to make Gray Highway safer for everyone.
Commissioner Lucas says a lot of lives have been lost on that particular stretch of Gray Highway, and it’s been tough to keep people from crossing the street because the crosswalks are so far apart from one another.
“At least, the medianettes offers a refuge in the middle of the street, so that all of the folks who are moving across this busy highway, one of the busiest in the state, I dare say, they at least have a place where they can stop halfway across and then maybe stand there until traffic slows and then they can continue going across,” Lucas said.
“And the faster you go, the more likely that if you hit somebody, you’re going to kill them,” Lucas said. “So we want to get those messages out to all of our citizens and we also want to encourage safety, because really, what’s that old saying? ‘The life you save may be your own, or the life of somebody that you love and care about,'” Commissioner Lucas said.
Commissioner-Elect Stanley Stewart says he has seen cars in the past just driving through the middle lane, and with the median now in place, they won’t be able to do it anymore.
“It is so congested here,” Lucas said. “There are so many businesses, so many people and neighborhoods all around. You’ve got to gradually put these things in place, and over time, it does make a difference.”
Other planned safety measures include gradually reducing the speed limit and adding HAWK systems for people to cross easier.
The commissioner and commissioner-elect says they are going to continue work on Gray Highway along with work on Pio Nono Avenue and Eisenhower Parkway.
