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Who Makes Macon-Bibb Streets Safe for Walking?

PeachTracker
PeachTracker
August 24, 2026

Keeping Macon-Bibb County safe for walking is not one office's job. Your neighborhood streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks belong to the county government. Highways that pass through town belong to the state. Street lights are split between the county and Georgia Power. The fastest way to fix a dangerous spot is to figure out who owns it, then report it to the right place — and this guide sorts that out for you.

The short answer

  • Everyday streets and sidewalks are the county's job. To report a broken sidewalk, faded crosswalk, or pothole, use the county's SeeClickFix website (a simple online form for reporting problems) or call Public Works at (478) 803-0490 (as of 2026).
  • Bigger safety fixes — a new crosswalk, a speed hump, a speed study — start with the county's Traffic Engineering department. The Pedestrian Safety Review Board hears appeals, approves the final plan, and pays for it.
  • Highways that run through town (the ones marked with a numbered route sign) are generally the state's, not the county's.
  • Dark street lights go to one of two places, depending on the pole: the county for metal poles, Georgia Power for wooden poles.

What this means for you

Most walking hazards fall into one of four groups: something is broken (a cracked sidewalk, a dead light), something is missing (no crosswalk, no sidewalk), cars go too fast, or the road is a state highway. Each group has a different owner, and a report filed with the wrong one has to be rerouted before anyone can act on it. Getting it to the right place first is the most useful thing you can do.

Who runs walking safety in Macon-Bibb

Macon and Bibb County merged into one government in 2014, so there is no separate city side and county side of the streets — one Mayor and nine commissioners oversee all of it. Under them, the work splits across a few offices:

Public Works
Takes care of local streets and sidewalks. This is your first call for a broken or blocked sidewalk, a pothole, or a faded crosswalk.
The county Traffic Engineer
The staffer who, after studying the traffic on a road, is allowed to put up and maintain the actual signs, signals, crosswalk paint, stop signs, and speed-limit signs on local roads. This authority comes from the county's traffic law (Chapter 28 of the county code).
The Pedestrian Safety Review Board
A county board asked to find ways "to make all of the county's roads, streets, and alleys safe for pedestrians." It meets every month and brings the sheriff's office, the health department, schools, traffic engineers, and residents to one table. It oversees the county's Vision Zero plan, a plan whose goal is zero traffic deaths and serious injuries.
The Traffic Calming Program
How a resident asks for a speed hump, a new crossing, or a speed study on a specific street. Requests start with Traffic Engineering, not with the board; the board comes in later, to hear appeals, approve the final plan, and fund it.

Two more pieces sit outside the county:

  • The state (GDOT) handles the state highways and U.S. highways that run through Bibb County. GDOT is the Georgia Department of Transportation — the state's road agency. Bibb County is part of its District 3, based in Thomaston, which covers 31 counties in West Central Georgia. Crossings, signals, and signs on those highways are generally the state's call.
  • The Macon Area Transportation Study (MATS) is the regional group that plans big, federally funded road and walking projects — sidewalks, trails, and bike paths. Federal pedestrian money for the county flows through this kind of regional planning.

What it actually takes to get a speed hump

This is the part most people get backwards. You do not need a petition to ask. One resident can start the process. The signature thresholds in the county's policy all run the other way — they are for stopping or removing traffic calming, not for requesting it.

How a request moves:

1. You apply. Take a photo of the spot and submit a Needs Assessment Application to Traffic Engineering through SeeClickFix. (A paper version is in the back of the county's Final Traffic Calming Policy, returnable to the Engineering Department at 780 3rd Street.)

2. Traffic Engineering screens it. The Traffic Safety Manager checks whether the street is eligible at all. If it isn't, you're notified and it stops there.

3. The Traffic Engineer studies it and drafts a plan. If your request is denied at this stage, you can appeal to the Pedestrian Safety Review Board, which puts it on the board's agenda.

4. Neighbors are notified and can ask for changes to the plan.

5. The board reviews and approves, the county installs the measure temporarily as a trial, and permanent installation follows once funding comes up in the order requests were received.

The thresholds, all of which are about blocking or undoing a project:

  • 51% to stop it. Neighbors who oppose an approved project must collect signatures from 51% of the project area to prevent permanent installation. If they don't, it goes in.
  • 51% to remove it. Taking out an existing measure needs a petition from at least 51% of property owners in the project area. Each lot counts as one vote, all co-owners of a parcel must sign, and renters can't sign in place of the owner. The Traffic Engineer makes the final call.
  • 70% to pay for it privately. If residents want to fund a project themselves rather than wait for county money, at least 70% of affected property owners must vote in favor.

The "project area" is every property fronting the street, plus properties on cross streets out to the next major intersection that use the street to get in and out.

Not every street qualifies, but the bar is softer than it looks. The hard requirements are just two: it must be a county road, and it must be at least 750 feet long (cul-de-sacs are excluded). Everything else is scored on a 20-point scale that weighs land use, existing pedestrian facilities, traffic volume, emergency access, speed, and social vulnerability — a street generally needs 16 of the 20 points to be approved, and 14–15 gets considered. Heavier traffic and faster speeds score more points (the rubric tops out at 500-plus vehicles a day and average speeds 11 mph over the limit), but a street below those marks can still qualify, and the policy allows special consideration for historic districts, school zones, and streets with frequent special events.

One caveat worth knowing: the county's published policy is inconsistent about how long the trial period runs, giving both 90 days and 60 days in different passages. Ask Traffic Engineering what applies to your street rather than counting on either number.

A lower speed limit is a separate track and not part of this program. Speed zones are set by the traffic engineer after an engineering and traffic study, and then adopted by the Commission.

Quick test: is it a state highway or a local street?

This matters, because a state highway is usually the state's job, not the county's. Look for a numbered route sign:

  • A U.S. highway has a black-and-white sign that reads something like "US 41."
  • A Georgia state route has a square sign bearing the outline of the state, reading something like "GA 22."
  • A local street has no numbered route sign at all.

Treat this as a starting point rather than a rule. State routes running through a city are sometimes maintained locally, and the sign alone won't tell you. If the road has a numbered route sign, start with the state — if it turns out to be locally maintained, they can point you back to the county.

What the county does NOT handle

  • State and U.S. highways. These run right through Macon, and crosswalks and signals on them are generally the state's to change, not the county's.
  • Georgia Power's street lights. Lights on wooden poles (and metal poles outside the downtown and interstate areas) belong to Georgia Power, not the county.
  • School-zone speeding tickets. The county funds crossing guards (up to $300,000 for the Bibb County School District, announced in 2024), and the school-zone speed cameras are run by a private vendor under contract, with the Bibb County Sheriff's Office reviewing and approving the citations that get issued. A 2026 state law (HB 651, effective July 1, 2026) tightened these programs statewide — citation revenue is now restricted to public safety uses, enforcement is limited to the hours around the school day, new warning-sign rules phase in, and starting July 1, 2027, keeping cameras requires approval by local voters in a referendum — so expect this system to change.
  • Who owns the sidewalk isn't always clear. County pages say Public Works handles sidewalks, but it's not fully settled whether another department shares that duty, and the county code contains a mechanism for assessing some sidewalk costs against adjoining property owners. If you're unsure, start with Public Works — they can point you to the right place, and ask them directly before assuming a repair is free to you.

What you can do — step by step

A broken sidewalk, pothole, or faded crosswalk on a local street: Report it to Public Works through the SeeClickFix form at seeclickfix.com/macon_bibb_county_ga, or call (478) 803-0490 (Monday–Thursday, 6:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., as of 2026).

A dangerous crossing, or you want a speed hump, new crosswalk, or speed study: Submit a Needs Assessment Application to Traffic Engineering through SeeClickFix. The policy and the paper form are in the county's Final Traffic Calming Policy (PDF). A phone line for the Pedestrian Safety Review Board — which hears appeals and approves final plans — is 478-803-2820 (as of 2026).

A dark street light: Check the pole. For a metal pole (mostly downtown and near the interstates — roughly 4,000 of them, as of 2026), call county Facilities Management at (478) 751-9260. For a wooden pole, use Georgia Power's map at georgiapower.com report-street-light-outage — search your address, click the light, and choose "REPORT STREET LIGHT ISSUE."

A problem on a state highway (numbered route sign): Use the state's contact form at dot.ga.gov.

Speeding cars or a school-zone worry: Contact the Bibb County Sheriff's Office on its non-emergency line.

A fix that needs money or a new policy: Ask your county commissioner. Find yours at /districts.

One more note on curb ramps: any government that runs streets and sidewalks must, under a federal law (the Americans with Disabilities Act), keep a plan and schedule for building curb ramps where a walkway crosses a curb. If a missing or broken curb ramp blocks you, raise it with Public Works and your commissioner.

Where to go next

Sources

Last reviewed August 2026. Contacts, program rules, and the school-zone camera law are all subject to change — confirm with the office involved.

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