Walkable Volusia

Today through our election on October 28th, membership dues are just $5! Anyone in Volusia, Seminole, Flagler, or Lake County is eligible for membership! Complete dues waivers remain available for those with financial hardship, no questions asked. This movement NEEDS people to power it, so if you’ve been on the fence, now is the time! Link in bio to become a member.

We built our communities one way for all of human history. Suddenly, in the 1940s, we just stopped. And then we spent the next 70 years making sure we’d never build anything walkable ever again. Hard to undo? Very. Impossible to create again? Absolutely not.

We will be at Stetson U tonight to Rock for Democracy! Civic engagement may begin with voting, but it doesn't end there! Getting involved in local government is the best way to effect real change on issues you care about and make our communities safer, more walkable, and affordable for everyone.

This has been a public service announcement 😘

New Smyrna Beach is hosting a public forum on adding sidewalks along South Pine Street and Ocean Avenue on September 21st! If you are an NSB resident, please plan to be there to speak in favor of sidewalks!

www.cityofnsb.com

Wow, thank you to the Volusia community for engaging with us on these important issues! Our page's engagement is up 3,684.4% versus the previous week. If you are new here, we hope you will consider becoming a member to support our efforts at

Get Involved — Walkable Volusia Join us to build a strong community.Walkable Volusia members guide our strategy, engage in direct advocacy, further our education initiatives, and serve in elected and appointed government offices. Want to help us out?

While we had hoped to avoid commenting publicly on this, Volusia County Councilman Danny Robins has been spreading misinformation about Walkable Volusia across social media and has deleted our comments clarifying our positions. It is necessary for us to set the record straight about what we actually believe and advocate for.

First and foremost, Walkable Volusia is completely non-partisan. It has been suggested that we have a political slant, and that is patently false. We count Republicans, Independents, and Democrats amongst our members, and Republicans, Democrats, and NPA candidates signed our Better Communities Pledge. We are a 501(c)4 and cannot be partisan.

Secondly, it was suggested that Walkable Volusia supports developing farm lands and rural residential areas. That is literally the opposite of what we advocate for. Suburban sprawl is by far the most damaging, expensive form of development and we are totally opposed to it. It was also said that we support large tract homes, high density development, and new CRAs. That is all false. We recognize that state preemption puts up roadblocks to meaningfully tackling some of these issues, and that power is shared among various levels of local government, but we believe that many elected officials have thrown up their hands instead of seeking creative solutions. We want to be part of those solutions.

Let's talk about what Walkable Volusia does believe in. We believe that it is unacceptable that Volusia is consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous places in the United States for pedestrians and bicyclists. We believe that sprawl creates car dependency that clogs our roadways, endangers motorists, and harms our health. We believe that walkable downtowns should be the economic and cultural centerpiece of every community, a place where residents can easily access their everyday needs and where small local businesses thrive. After all, walkable cities are not new -- that's just how we built every city for all of human history. It's the sprawl that's new!

While Danny may have given the impression that Walkable Volusia supports candidates and nothing else, our Better Communities Pledge was very much a side-project to make our views known to and build relationships with current and future elected officials. What we do every day is host educational programming, communicate with elected officials about sustainable development, research best practices for improving our cities, and connect members of the community through a common belief that we can do better. That our streets can be safer, that our housing costs can be lower, and that walkability can make us a happier, healthier, more connected Volusia community.

We don't think any of that is particularly controversial. But if you do, let's chat! We have an open door policy. We reached out to Danny privately last night and invited him to talk with us. There is probably more that unites us than divides us.

We bet you didn’t know that the DeLand Historic Preservation Board has a say in every building constructed, renovated, or demolished in downtown. That means its members decide whether any walkable housing gets built in DeLand, how much it costs, and how long it takes to finish. The number one thing we can do today to revitalize downtown is ensure that people can live there and that business owners can take care of their buildings. If walkability, affordability, and the health of downtown matter to you, you’ve got to apply for this board. No special qualifications are necessary. There are FOUR vacancies for the board, which meets once or month or less. It is important that it be filled with those with a positive, forward-looking vision for Downtown DeLand.