Civic pride rises as the road widens

There is a lot of development going on around and inside Macon-Bibb County. Currently, the landscape of our town is changing with the widening of Interstates 16 and 75. The new view of the Ocmulgee River and the river walk, while traveling I-16 East and West between the I-75/I-16 intersection and the Coliseum Drive exit, is quite a scene.

As we travel a little way over the river, there’s the historic Pleasant Hill community. This is not its first time going through change due to road and transportation development. During the mid-1960s, the construction of I-75 split up the neighborhood.

Currently, roads, structures and trees are being ripped out to create parks, new roadways, sidewalks, kiosks with Pleasant Hill’s history, art education on noise barrier walls and so much more. Many houses have also been relocated to fill in empty lots in certain parts of the district. All of these initiatives stem from a mitigation created by Peter Givens, a native of Pleasant Hill.

There’s no doubt the neighborhood will be enhanced with the new improvements. However, this is such a crucial time for concerned citizens, leaders, government and organizations to collaborate on solutions to save institutions that have preserved some of Macon’s black history.

Revitalizing the Booker T. Washington Center would be a key factor to engaging people of all ages with art, education, recreation and life skills programming. That’s the type of programming it used to provide for the neighborhood. Before then, it was the site of the old Hudson High School, which later merged with Ballard Normal that was on Forest Avenue to create Ballard Hudson on Anthony Road.

Another key component would be preserving Linwood Cemetery, which takes up about 13.8 acres in this historic community. So many people who made contributions to society are interred there. Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Rodney Davis is a well-known person buried there, but others include Charles Douglass, a businessman; Ruth Hartley Mosley; a nurse and community activist, U.S. Rep. Jefferson Long and many more have been laid to rest in Linwood Cemetery.

The time is perfect for planning programming. The road construction has a lot stirred up. Individuals and organizations who care about Pleasant Hill recognize the need to partner and help save the neighborhood’s rich history of citizens, hospitals, green spaces, schools, churches, businesses and so much more.

This is the second time around for Pleasant Hill experiencing change centered around road improvement of I-75. Hopefully, with proper planning, we the people can instill a sense of belonging to the people who live in the community by way of art, history, preservation and education.

This story was originally published July 4, 2017 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Civic pride rises as the road widens."