MTO: Heavy hitters bring increased attention to CAUTION Macon

If CAUTION Macon wasn't being heard six months ago, high-profile individuals have changed that.

The grass-roots group, often seen as disorganized and unprepared in the early days of its existence, is now at the forefront of any conversation about the Macon-Bibb County Road Improvement Program.

Due diligence has brought them to this point, said Walter Kulash, a well-known environmental planner hired by road officials following CAUTION Macon pressure.

It has taken deep pockets, said Richard Hubert, an attorney hired by CAUTION for his ability to stop major road projects.

It has needed help from state senators, said Richard Cloues, an officer with the Historic Preservation Division.

But perhaps more importantly, it has been help from all of these high-profile individuals that finally made the difference, said Suzan Rivers, one of the group's leaders.

"We know that you only have one shot to do a road project of such magnitude, and we want to see it done right," Rivers said. "We've seen other cities turn out beautiful road projects and when they were over, they still had beautiful communities. We know Moreland Altobelli is smart enough to do the same here. No one wants to see Macon's historic beauty destroyed."

For a while, it seemed as if no one would listen to people who claimed they were part of CAUTION Macon, Rivers said. Day after day, door after door was shut to members of the group. Requests for paperwork and designs were slow to come around. Straight answers weren't part of the agenda, she said.

"We just weren't getting anywhere locally," Rivers said. "So we thought we needed to go higher up."

The first victory came in Walter Kulash. Kulash was hired by the road project to help preserve community atmospheres that members of CAUTION Macon feared would be lost. Although Kulash was not offered a chance to work on the program's most controversial project - Houston Road - he has been an influence on many other road designs.

"We would have to call CAUTION Macon a successful and functioning advocacy group," Kulash said. "They are making a lot of progress on the roads. But they are also understanding that there is no conspiracy on the project, just people who have a different vision for the roads."

Kulash has expressed to members of the road project and CAUTION that there are improvements that have to be made, simply out of safety for drivers and pedestrians. But there are limits to what needs to be done.

"Houston could get this historic district now," he said. "We've seen many cities take historic districts and actually slow down the traffic because of the tourism dollars they can make there."

Kulash said traffic may get backed up somewhat, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Drivers who are stuck in traffic often decide to turn off when they see something of interest. Raise the speeds, and they'll drive by.

"What CAUTION needs to do is use the Internet, find some examples of what they like and present those," Kulash said. "If you've got examples, people will listen."

Acting director Ray Luce and Cloues drove down from Atlanta Friday to meet with CAUTION members and Kulash for discussion of other historic areas.

"We're seeing things a lot differently after talking with members of the community and CAUTION this time around," Cloues said.

The office is compiling a global report to show the effects of the proposed road projects on Macon's historic areas. This will be the first time such a report has been made, Cloues said.

"Really, this project is a new phenomenon," he said. "No one else in Georgia has attempted such a large project. But we're seeing that it could happen again and from working here, hopefully, we'll know how to handle it.

"But, I'll be honest, we're only here again because (state) Sen. Robert Brown requested us to do this work," Cloues said. "We had already looked at the issues but didn't have the right information presented to us that time."

It took calls to many politicians before CAUTION was able to get Brown to listen, Rivers said. Once he heard the story, he wanted to help.

"I think he helped because he saw how dedicated we were," she said. "We aren't just concerned about what happens to our street, but we're here to help everyone else and their streets."

The idea of community isn't segmented to roads, Rivers said. It's a citywide atmosphere and CAUTION is trying to impress that upon the road officials.

Hubert has already sent notice of a suit to the county. Since Houston has been delayed, he is waiting to see what road officials do next.

"What CAUTION Macon does is try to get the projects so they can pass muster," Hubert said. "They're actually helping the road officials."

Hubert contends that the road project was designed in segments and was never examined for global effect. An environmental impact study was created for Houston Road but not for the entire project.

"If (the county) wants federal funding, then they are going to have to do such an environmental impact study," he said.

That means including all of Bibb County's historic preservation opportunities, its endangered species, its noise studies, its air quality and its water quality.

"If they're not going to do this, then what I'll do is raise procedural obstacles to their federal funding," Hubert said. "Right now, what (the road officials) have is inadequate. Macon has the largest historic area east of the Mississippi, and it's strange and mysterious that (the Department of Transportation) determined there would be no effect on it."

"They dig in their pockets and they support it because they believe in it and know it's the last chance they have," he said.

Rivers said money is not a problem. Although she would not disclose how much money they've raised, she said the group has held and is holding fund-raisers. CAUTION has also applied for non-profit status with the state.

CAUTION could step into one other arena soon. They will test the field of politics with a mayoral-candidate forum on June 29.

"We're not going to support any candidate," Rivers said. "We just want people concerned about their roads to have a chance to get information on candidates and make their own decisions."

Even though they may not back a politician, Hubert says candidates should know what CAUTION stands for and include that in their platforms.

"They're a small community group of people," Hubert said. "So any politician there ought to realize they've got the votes."

If they don't, "then they do what they did and hire some lawyer from Atlanta who files lawsuits," Hubert said.

"We don't think of ourselves as high profile, but we're here," Kulash said. "Sometimes high profile is exactly what it takes to get noticed."