Good plan Mr Peake: "Peake said he’d rather see turn lanes added along the existing road,"

Reichert & Hart are pushing to waste $26 million in State Taxpayer dollars during the most serious budget crisis since the great depression?

One can look at the Zebulon Rd history to see how that widening has helped $250,000.00 houses go on the market for $65k and bring all sorts of crime to the area.

2 miles of Riverside Drive was widened and resurfaced WITH A NEW BRIDGE" for $13 million and they are wanting us to sign off on $26 million for 2 miles for Forest Hill Road???

Elmo needs to have "his" Bass Rd widened before he gets back into destroying the tree lined Neighborhood of the FHR area.

And if you don't read the AJC and review GDOT's actions with an auditor-steward's eye, you're part of the GDOT, culture of corruption & graft problem:

www.ajc.com/news/feds-freeze-gdot-s-108396.html

"News of the federal review comes just a week after the state auditor and the state inspector general issued scathing reports on the DOT’s financial practices. Those reports said the former DOT treasurer abused his authority in making the agency’s accounts look better off than they were."


Google AJC and GDOT and if you aren't in the good ole boy network, you will be in fiscal-conservative-shock at how they operate...

They know Macon is a poor, uneducated, passive town and, therefore, they can do anything they want to do.

Isn't it funny; we are bankrupt in Macon and in the State: we can't pay our state employees, we can't pay our teachers, everyone is laying-off employees and cutting back jobs...but we are going to make Forest Hill Road look like the rest of Macon; abandoned, dilapidated and depressed. We need new leadership. "Smiley Jack" Reichert just isn’t cutting it anymore. Sam Hart turned on us in North Macon. Richardson can't hear. Bums! All of them! Bums. Throw them out!

"A 2006 Telegraph analysis of traffic and runoff predictions found wide variations in the numbers used to justify the project." Have you the courage to tell us who is lying?

Well, votes will be scarce in that area.

Every person in Bibb County should be extremely interested in this matter. In 1991, city and county leaders (ALL democrat) asked citizens to pass a SPLOST (sales tax) for transportation improvements. The 'keystone' project was a parkway which would connect the northwest side of the city to the southwest side. Since that time, the 'southern' portion of the parkway has been completed, from Pio Nono Ave. to Mercer University Drive. The 'northern' portion, though, has gone NOWHERE. All property owners along the improved roadway and, possibly, all citizens of Bibb County may have standing for a class action lawsuit for this breech of promise. Citizens should remember this when the same 'leaders' come to them for another SPLOST. But will they? Maybe 'hula' is right.

Citizens will hold a public meeting TBA in January to reveal details of widening designs proposed by Mr Rick Chellman - the international expert hired by Forest Hill Mediators. The Mayor and Chairman will be invited to view this much-improved plan with the citizens and taxpayers. We will explain how to win GDOT support for this better plan - that will benefit Macon, Bibb and Middle Georgia.

Back when this project got footing we were trying to "Save the Macon Mall" by getting the North Macon folks out to the mall. Macon Mall is a now a "goner!" Traffic patterns have changed. Now we don't need a corridor down Forest Hill Road as Northside Drive is now not a merchandising area due to the shift to River Crossing. Macon leaders have a pattern of develop and abandon for greener pastures. They leave blight and poverty in their wake. Look at Northside Drive with it's empty retail areas, "low rent" apartments, overgrown right-of-ways, sidewalks covered in weeds. Look at Houston Road where the neighbors pulled back from the road, built fences and left the eyesore that the state DOT created. Remember it took eight years to finish the project and the state flooded the area with their inadequate planning and redesign. As I remember, Mr. Richardson's engineers had a hand in messing up the drainage and runoff. Did the state retrieve any money from his insurance or did the tax

The mayor needs to resign! He just does not work for the residents of the city or understand fiscal responsibility.

Thats a pretty neat plan. Let the road deteriorate to the point of there being a tire damaging pothole every 10 feet and then throw this one back on us. This is one of the last decent neiborhoods in Macon. Inner city Macon dosent need access to River crossing.

Bendrr is misrepresenting the "no roads" crowd - this is a "staw-man" argument. He's wrong about Roundabouts. Bendrr is obviously ignorant about the several "experts" involved here. Hope he does better research before typing here again.

The traffic projections used to plan/engineer this project have PROVEN to be Greatly Overstated:
www.macon-bibb.com/FHR/traffic.htm

Citizens have asked repeatedly for a repaving, plus the addition of turn lanes at Wimbish and at Ridge Ave. This is doable if the Mayor and Bibb Chair want it to happen. It was discussed at MATS Policy meeting last April:
www.macon-bibb.com/MATS/Policy20090401.htm

Willing to bet the most mouthy rude folks posting here don't live in the area nor drive on Forest Hills Road. Well, I do live there. The vast majority of folks who also live around it see this project for the boondoggle that it is. I really don't understand why folks still use it to go anywhere but the neighborhoods it runs through, but DOT has a vision, a nasty vision IMHO. The insanity of it is that they keep referring to Old Lundy intersection and fail to see that could fix the major complaint. Make it one way down the hill, Forest Hill one way up the hill, linked by Wimbish...leaving the trees and neighborhood intact, leaving the section between Wimbish and Vineville for DOT destruction. A turn lane from Old Lundy to Northside is more than enough. We don't need a 4 lane road running through our neighborhood and don't want it! I do know a mayor and county commission chairman who will not get my vote next time...before pushing something, ask the folk who live around it first.

This isn't about need. It's about pork and the incestuous relationship between GDOT and Moreland Altobelli. Reichert and Hart should be ashamed of themselves. They've sold out and sided with the corrupt.

The original plans were based on data that was flat wrong. It's woefully out of date and does not reflect the new reality of a major shopping center to the north and continued deterioration of the Macon Mall. Also, the population of the Forest Hill area has stagnated or actually declined. BTW, Forest Hill Road was never a major thouroughfare and shouldn't turn into the horror of Zebulon Road or Northside Drive.

Those who have called for a more reasonable approach have been vilified and demonized by GDOT and Moreland Altobelli, who have become stubbornly entrenched and determined to ram this stupid project down the throats of the residents of the area just because they had the audacity to question the project's wisdom.

Mayor Reichert might tell us why (and how much) Macon is paying those ###$ dump trucks up and down Forest Hill Rd to Durr's Lake Park site for over six months. These trucks have put FHR in much worse condition. Who is getting paid to fill Durr's Lake Park up like a Landfill Dump? Is this a foreshadowing of Macon/Bibb's next "Recreation" SPLOST ?

Not that my opinion counts for anything, but I agree with bigjames - 3 lanes is enough, and would do little to damage the area. What IS damaging the area (and I DO live in it) is the condition of the road itself - I swear that they filmed the pothole commercial on that stretch of road. As far as it being one of the last decent neighborhoods in Macon, one only has to look at the amount of for sale signs and rental properties to know that this neighborhood isn't what it once was...

Forget Forest Hill Road, move the funds to widen Bass Road. What a nightmare ALL the time with traffic. Build roads were the growth is not where stores are closing. Why build a road from a 1950's plan for Macon? Why not look towards the future. How will Bass handle the traffic from a new Target?

Just say NO to the newly proposed SPLOST which is supported by both Reichert and Hart. The Macon-Bibb County Road Improvement Program (RIP) has been the most mismanaged and wasteful expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars in the history of this county. If the county, with the help of Reichert, can't oversee our taxpayer dollars any better than they have with the RIP, the proposed SPLOST won't get my vote and shouldn't get yours. The Executive Committee of the RIP has not even met in 5 years! Talk about mismanagement! Traffic counts don't justify widening Forest Hill Road. Actual traffic counts....not what you want them to be- to justify widening the road. Fixing the intersections will fix whatever perceived congestion any of you might think we have on this road. When is the last time you drove in Atlanta? I am not going to entrust any more of my hard earned tax dollars to these fools than I have to. Just VOTE NO to the proposed SPLOST.

Sorry, I ran out of space on my last comment. Look at a map folks, if you want to get to the "new" mall, go Wesleyan Drive, which is a straight shot directly to the mall, or widen Bass Road which drops off at the rear of the mall. Forest Hill Road doesn't even go there, at least the parts Hart and Reichert want widened. Destroy a neighborhood for this...Give me a break. Incompetence....total arrogance, egoism, and ineptness by our top two elected officials.

Problems with the Forest Hill Rd project start with the original SPLOST (1994). The campaign for the SPLOST was directed and financed by Moreland Altobelli, Inc. (MAI), the firm who was promised the contract to manage the projects funded by the SPLOST. Public officials, including the county engineer, were actively involved in the campaign, resulting in a complaint from a local attorney observing that government employees were banned from such participation. No public hearings detailing the actual projects and scope thereof included in the SPLOST were conducted (a GDOT official who recently learning of the lack of public hearings expressed surprise, as this is not the norm). The SPLOST was sold to the public as “Pennies for Potholes,” a now laughable statement that disguised the true intent and scope of the program. . . see more:
www.macon-bibb.com/FHR/Mediation_20080228.htm

Bibb County Commissioners continue to re-hire Moreland-Altobelli on a year-to-year basis to "Mis-Manage" the 1994 SPLOST with NO Oversight for the past 4-5 years. Bibb Commissioners need to Clean-Up this mess. Taxpayers need a full audit of where our Roads SPLOST money has gone.

Actually the FH road is not a bad project. Five nice lanes will be nice for drag racing on Sunday morning while the sheriff is in church. Zebulon Road is same ol', same ol'. Not a bump in the whole thing from Forsyth Road to I-475. Now with FH being upgraded....with all the curves....it will indeed be exciting. Bring on the dozers and let's get it done.

As one poster stated, it will turn in to a horror like Zebulon and Northside. Zebulon and Northside are racetracks and our Bibb Sheriffs Department looks the other way unless they are on one of the connecting side roads stopping cars for driving 40 in a 35 zone that is not clearly marked, while 3/4 miles away on Zebulon, speeders are driving 60 & 70 in a 45 & school zone. Forrest Hill get ready for the speeders and don't expect any help from our law enforcement to control speeding.

Doc you have my support and I thank you for standing up for all of us living in the Forest Hill area.

I have to agree with maconward1 .. the logical choice would be Bass ....of course the bridge at 75 should have already been under construction. As usual, we react, rather than be proactive. Rivoli/Bass backs up to where the old fire station was ... that's ridiculous and obviously the growth in both the Zebulon and Bass areas would warrant the need.

Has anyone considerd the bamboo forest that stands just south of old lundy? This is sacred bamboo.

The next time you drive on Wimbish Road and Forest Hill Road, think about what is missing and very much needed on these roadways, as well as 100s of miles on other streets in Macon. SIDEWALKS. It is hard to believe that in the 21st century, Macon is so far behind other cities in providing sidewalks, curbs and gutters on its streets. Macon can beautify so many roads and streets by simply putting in sidewalks and landscape with appropriate trees. DUH!

Rep Peake has the winning idea:

"State Rep. Allen Peake, a House Republican who represents the area, was also surprised. Peake said he’d rather see turn lanes added along the existing road"

FHR could be resurfaced with turn lanes for less than $2 million and the project could be most likely completed in less than a month. The other $24 million could be used to resurface other streets in Macon & Bibb County.

Oh, and Mayor Reichert needs to recuse himself from all votes and actions regarding FHR as the Bibb property records reflect him jointly owning nearby land with a Development company. One of the principals in the Development company was recently arrested in a high profile embezzlement case.

Up until about a week ago, you could see the jointly owned plot on the Bibb County mapping system but the County Commissioners have let the computer hardware and software degenerate so much that you can't even view a simple property map in Bibb County anymore.

http://www.co.bibb.ga.us/gisonlinenew/Detail1.asp?txtSearchType=1&txtInput1=reichert&RealKey=37780

dhisrael says it better than I can so here it is again.... Back when this project got footing we were trying to "Save the Macon Mall" by getting the North Macon folks out to the mall. Macon Mall is a now a "goner!" Traffic patterns have changed. Now we don't need a corridor down Forest Hill Road as Northside Drive is now not a merchandising area due to the shift to River Crossing. Macon leaders have a pattern of develop and abandon for greener pastures. They leave blight and poverty in their wake. Look at Northside Drive with it's empty retail areas, "low rent" apartments, overgrown right-of-ways, sidewalks covered in weeds. Look at Houston Road where the neighbors pulled back from the road, built fences and left the eyesore that the state DOT created

IF the DOT wants to spend money, why don't they improve the intersection of Eisenhower Parkway and Holley Road in Lizella. So many accidents have happened there and a lot of people have died in these accidents. People have begged for help here and the only thing the DOT has done was put up some little bars and bumps and these things have disappeared and they weren't that much help. A four way stop sign will be good enough.

Why do beautiful parts of Macon have to be destroyed?????

Uh...Oldkartwilltravel,
Please explain how five-laning Houston Road has helped your area. Quail Run Subdivision, valued at $41 Million (that's forty-one million dollars) has gone to foreclosure on December 14, 2009. Nobody wants to live on a dangerous five-lane road (the center turn lane is known as a "suicide lane"). Traffic counts are less than ONE-HALF of what they were projected to be once the project was completed. Typical projections by the Macon-Bibb County Road Improvement Program (RIP) management team and our gullible elected officials who keep falling for their "pie in the sky" projections. Look up the facts OldKart before you pontificate.

This is once again the good ol'boys club. Why don't they make ingeside from ride to pierce ave wider. I will tell you why. They don't want to upset the mighty ficklins. Who cares about the stupid trees when you have to goto one side everytime a car passes by. They should fix and widen that road before messing with anyother in north macon. I swear this town thinks that ficklins walk on water. Stop living in the past Macon.

Unbelievable! I have driven on this road several times per week for 15 years. I have never once encountered traffic! I can always do the speedlimit if not go a few miles over it. That long downhill will turn into in invitation for teens to do 80 mph if it is widened! The original plan was to help people to go to the mall. That mall is all but closed. Now everyone goes the other way to the new mall. Either way there is no traffic then or now!

widening forest hill for mall traffic makes about as much sense as reworking the I-16/Ocmulgee East exit for Brown and Williamson. You want to see pure lack of common sense, ride out there and look ...

WHYME1 has the Best solution.make ingeside to pierce ave wider, since Riverside dr. is going to widened. folks will be going to the new mall, Then go with Allen Peaks suggestion on turn lanes and re paving on Forest Hill,, Macon Government needs to take a whole new look at the entire project..VOTE NO ON ANY MORE PENNY TAX;S

...and they want to start a project on Forest Hill Road to fix what isn't broken. Forest Hill Road needs repair which you can't afford now!!!! Mark my words, we care for OUR property but once you take it is YOURS and you will have to send crews out to cut and landscape every few weeks. Remember, we are the ones that complain.
Ask Mr. Bishop, we elect new leaders over such issues, Mr. Hart, Mayor Robert Reichert ! We are your electors that voted for you! Earn the trust we gave you or we will find someone who will. Find better investment property in a commercial zone, Mayor Robert Reichert! ! We live here, it is our biggest investment!

Sam Hart chairs the Bibb County Commissioners who meet every 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 6pm. This would be a good place and time to raise these issues. Commissioners are supposed to be watching over the Roads Program, but they have not audited the expenses there in many years. They have allowed over $4,000,000 to be spent on FHR design already. It only costs $2M to repave all of FHR and to add the turn lanes at Wimbish and at Ridge Ave. So Bibb could have already solved the real traffic problems twice over.