Bike Walk Macon celebrates 10 years with Macon-themed rides and walks 

The Streets for All Fest next weekend features a series of walks and bike rides all around Macon, emphasizing the importance of the city’s progress toward being more pedestrian friendly.

The festival, which spans from March 6-8, marks the 10th anniversary of Bike Walk Macon, Macon’s first pedestrian and bicycle advocacy group. The group runs bike rides  across the city year-round. 

Rachel Umana, executive director for Bike Walk Macon, said the event is not only a fundraiser but a way to get people involved in conversations about the bikeability and walkability of Macon.

The festival’s eight events are a “mix of fun and entertaining” but also “informational rides,” she said, including a tour of Macon’s women-led public space improvements, a look at downtown’s street art and a behind-the-scenes look at the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail.

Some of the tours cost $20, but the historic Vineville Pet Parade and the Decades Ride are free. The organizers are also offering a $75 pass to all paid events.

The festival will be capped off with a party at Cotton Avenue Square Saturday at 5 p.m. Tickets to the events can be purchased on Bike Walk Macon’s website.

“We’re hoping that by having this event that it brings people together,” Umana said.  “We can demonstrate that there is a culture of biking and walking here, there’s an interest, and we can continue to push for improvements.” 

One of the bike tours, led by Macon-Bibb County Traffic Safety Manager Weston Stroud, will take riders through East Macon and highlight a federal grant to build miles of sidewalks and trails.

Part of Bike Walk Macon’s mission is to encourage improvements to roads and public spaces which increase accessibility to transportation, create public health benefits and make getting around more affordable, Umana said. 

Gray Highway, one of the roads receiving sidewalks as part of the federal grant, has seen its fair share of safety improvements. Umana said the grant is a “huge win,” and an unprecedented investment in pedestrian safety in Macon.

“I am hoping to change the image of what a pedestrian looks like, investing in biking doesn’t mean investing in one type of bicyclist, one type of pedestrian,” she said. ”We have people interested in this from all across Macon, they all look different, they all have different interests.”