I was introduced to the preeminent traffic engineer and transportation planner, Maryam Ghyabi, by the late great Big John.  He had a knack for bringing disparate people together on neutral ground then watching as they put differences aside to discover common ground on the critical issues we face.

That cup of coffee resulted in the most unlikely friendship in Volusia County. 

While there are many things we disagree on – and Ms. Ghyabi’s politics are not mine – the fact is, she is one of the smartest people I know. 

Some are all too quick to marginalize Ms. Ghyabi by dismissing her educated solutions as “pro development” because she happens to be the influential homebuilder Mori Hosseini’s sister. 

In my view, that unfortunate bias overlooks her significant regional contributions to finding transportation solutions through diverse public/private consortiums that address current needs and plan for our future – such as her successful stewardship of projects on Oakridge Boulevard and the East International Speedway Boulevard gateway in Daytona Beach. 

In addition to speaking the indecipherable bureaucratic language of transportation (trust me, there are more LOPPs, CMPs, ADTs, TIPs, CACs, TCCs, and TRIPs than you can shake a stick at) she possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the intricacies of every major transportation initiative in Volusia County – and how the planning, engineering, and funding of these incredibly complex (and expensive) projects come together to improve mobility and traffic safety. 

Most important, she cares about Volusia County.    

So, when Maryam Ghyabi speaks about our growing transportation infrastructure challenges, I listen. 

Our elected officials in the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand should too. . .

On Sunday, in an informative editorial in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Ms. Ghyabi outlined the importance of community input and intergovernmental cooperation in improving LPGA Boulevard between U.S. 92 and Williamson Boulevard – an already congested section that traverses the epicenter of commercial and residential development in ‘New Daytona’ – and a major regional thoroughfare that would serve as a primary evacuation route for points east in the event of an emergency.    

These improvements would include a solution to that Monument to Mediocrity that is the two-lane pinch point across the Tomoka River – a visible and visceral reminder of the absurdity of allowing massive development west of I-95 before adequate transportation infrastructure was in place to accommodate current and future demands.

The disturbing fact is – these current and future needs weren’t even considered when the various developments were approved.

Prove me wrong?

According to an analysis, between 2015 and 2019 there were a total of 514 traffic crashes on the 6.2 mile stretch of LPGA Boulevard – to include 139 involving injuries and five fatalities. In addition, estimates show that traffic volume on LPGA Boulevard will double in coming years, leading to gridlock conditions if improvements are not made:

“Therefore, in order to accommodate existing and future travel demand and improve safety on LPGA Boulevard, the Florida Department of Transportation has initiated a Project Development and Environment (PD& E) study from U.S. 92 to Williamson Boulevard, in collaboration with the City of Daytona Beach, River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization and Volusia County.”

While Ms. Ghyabi praised Daytona Beach City Manager Deric Feacher for working collegially to support local and state efforts to improve conditions on LPGA Boulevard – her editorial subtly “encouraged” Volusia County officials to “…embrace the spirit of the coalition and engage with their constituents to understand their needs.”

Sounds like someone in DeLand is stonewalling. . .   

Historically, playing nice with the municipalities and “engaging with their constituents” has never been a high priority for Volusia County – and our children and grandchildren (in the unlikely event they choose to remain here) will live with the fallout of this bureaucratic arrogance for decades.

For instance, this disastrous ‘cart before the horse’ growth management strategy is just one of the many reasons – collectively referred to as “the trust issue” – why the half-cent sales tax initiative (ostensibly earmarked for transportation infrastructure) was roundly rejected by Volusia County voters who no longer have confidence in our elected and appointed officials to steward public funds in the public interest. 

In the view of many, shoveling even more of our hard-earned tax dollars into the maw of the same bloated and detached bureaucracy is the textbook definition of insanity:  Doing the same thing while expecting a different result. 

For years, we have watched while those dullards on the dais of power in DeLand and the larger municipalities have puled about the coming disaster that is now our overstressed transportation system – even as they rubberstamped more, more, more development across the width and breadth of Volusia County.

It represents the antithesis of concurrency or effective growth management, and now this political cowardice, bureaucratic inaction, and refusal to prioritize has come home to roost.

Now, after years of official procrastination, some $10 million has been allocated for the planning, development, and environmental study of scientific methods to improve volume, safety, and accessibility on LPGA Boulevard.

With thousands of zero-lot-line cracker boxes already complete – and more land being cleared for development on LPGA Boulevard every day – it is now or never. 

Both the LPGA Boulevard modifications and Tomoka River Bridge projects are currently listed on the River to Sea Transportation Planning Organizations list of prioritized projects, and according to FDOT, the PD&E study will take twenty-two months to complete.

That proves the importance of government entities working in coordination – because nothing about regionally significant transportation projects happens fast – as the bulldozers clear-cutting for more subdivisions continue to roar. . .

In my view, this isn’t about facilitating more malignant growth (look around, that horse has left the barn), but it may represent our last/best opportunity to cure the sins of the past – at least until We, The Little People elect political leaders with the moral courage to ensure the safety and welfare of existing residents and our environment while effectively preparing for future growth.   

Throughout Volusia County, residents are faced with the natural consequences of gross obstructionism, an inability to think strategically, and refusal to plan for future demands – and it is time for the tail to stop wagging the dog at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration complex.  

As this important study moves forward, Volusia County residents should let their voices be heard and demand that our elected officials pull their heads out of the sand and direct their foot-dragging bureaucrats to stop quibbling over trivialities before FDOT takes these scarce dollars off the table and moves forward with other equally pressing projects around the state.