The Issues

Better Streets & Livable Transportation Options for All

Better, slower streets are an opportunity to make Blacksburg more connected and thriving as a community. When our streets are designed for all kinds of users, the benefits are considerable. Whether people are walking, rolling, driving, or using public transit, slower streets reduce accidents, promote healthier lifestyles, and make it easier for everyone, including children and seniors, to get around safely. By investing in our streets, we can build more community connection, advance our sustainability goals, and create a more livable town that prioritizes people and place-making over empty car storage and through traffic.

Community Well-Being & Responsible Growth

Productive growth is an important distinction to make when discussing how we should grow in the Town of Blacksburg. Our downtown with its mixed use buildings and walkable streets is an example of productive growth that has had lasting value for the community for decades. This type of growth has long-term positive returns and gives us more choices for transportation, more potential for local business, a stronger tax base and protects our green space. Productive growth is all about creating a balanced, resilient town that respects its roots while building toward a brighter future with vibrant neighborhoods, better active & public transit, a solid tax base, and resilient social capital. We need to make land use and zoning decisions that encourages productive growth while discouraging growth that is unproductive such as car-dependent, suburban sprawl.

Comprehensive Housing & Zoning Reform