DeBary staff outline transportation map, note bike, golf-cart and capacity gaps

City of DeBary Growth Management Director Stephen Babb on Wednesday presented data and analysis for the transportation element of the city’s draft 2025 comprehensive plan, saying the presentation focuses on existing conditions, not policy choices.

Babb told the City Council the transportation section will include maps showing the city’s road network, jurisdictional responsibilities and projected levels of service through 2035 and 2045. He said arterial streets, collectors and local streets are color-coded on the plan’s maps and that the maps required for the plan submittal include a transportation-network exhibit (map 21).

The nut graf: the presentation identified several operational and safety concerns — near-critical traffic volumes on key roads, poor conditions for bicyclists on faster roads without separation, sidewalk gaps and limited local bus coverage — and tied those conditions to projects already under review by the Florida Department of Transportation and the Flagler-Volusia Transportation Planning Organization.

Babb said the city’s current operating levels range from A/B to D on many streets for the most recent six months of monitoring and that the 10- and 20-year projections (2035 and 2045) come from Volusia County with supplemental city staff analysis where county data had gaps. He noted the city’s three state trails and an existing SunRail station near the southern portion of the city and said the SunRail line previously ended in DeBary but now extends farther north.

On active transportation, Babb said the plan applies a bicycle metric called “levels of traffic stress,” which rates the relative comfort and safety for bicyclists. He said U.S. 1792 (Charles R. Beale Boulevard) “fares poorly” for bicyclists because of high speeds and little or no separation from motor vehicles and that the plan identifies that as a condition to be corrected. "This section will include a lot of maps," Babb told the council, noting printed maps are easier to read than screen views.

Council discussion focused on specific improvements and near-term actions. Council member Stevenson asked whether FDOT’s upcoming resurfacing this summer would improve walkability scores; Babb said reducing posted speeds and narrower lane geometry would help but would not substitute for a complete‑street design that adds separated bike and pedestrian facilities. Council members also discussed sidewalk gap analyses staff has performed and the intent to connect local sidewalks and trails to state trail facilities and to new development areas.

Babb said the Flagler-Volusia Transportation Planning Organization (formerly known as the RiverDESI TPO) coordinates regional transportation programming and reviews funding proposals to ensure consistency with the long-range transportation plan. He said some long-range projects the plan will reference include FDOT-managed turn-lane work on Dirksen Road and other resurfacing and reconstruction projects handled at the county or state level.

Less urgent details: the presentation noted the city has permitted golf carts on certain roads and issued 528 golf cart permits since 2022, and staff said that local bus service runs on a single spur through Charles R. Beale Boulevard with stops that will be extended as new development adds demand. The council scheduled a follow-up workshop to begin policy-level discussion in two weeks.

The workshop was informational; no new policy or ordinance was adopted at Wednesday’s session.