COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
‘Burg Bits
BUSINESS & THE ARTS
St. Pete buildings are exploding
with color as urban mural artists
lend their creative talent to the
front, side and interior of buildings.
As John Collins, executive director
of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance
points out, “it’s a great way for
business and the arts to work
together.” There are now more
than 500 murals in town—quite
an amazing example of innovative
public art. One of the most
recent is a showstopper on the
side of St. Pete’s Pilot Bank. Local
artists Derek Donnelly and John
Gascot created a stunning mural
of a bi-plane, a tribute to St. Pete’s
early history as the birthplace of
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airboat from the downtown waterfront
over the Bay to Tampa.
Bike-Friendly City
round sunshine and a beautiful
natural environment, biking on
city streets or the Pinellas Trail
would be a top outdoor recreational
activity for residents and
visitors. Now St. Pete has been
businesses. Coast Bike Share,
which partners with the city to
provide public bike racks and
rentals, recently earned the top
-
mitted to adding 60 more miles of
pedestrian crossings as part of the
city’s Complete Streets program.
Bike lanes already take cyclists
through many of the city’s scenic
waterfront districts and now they
are being added to select streets
in town to encourage greater use
of bikes as transportation and not
just recreation.
beach at Fort DeSoto Park, and even a
Dog Bar in the city’s Grand Central entertainment
district. We knew St. Petersburg
residents (and visitors) loved their dogs,
but these numbers are impressive! The
‘Burg even offers pets and their humans a
chance to cool off with a unique doggie
swim and play date every summer at the
Fossil Park city recreational center. But
this is one day that only dogs are invited
to swim in the pool — humans can simply
watch and monitor the fun.
Now St. Pete is raising the bar even
further to make the city among the
most pet-friendly in the nation. Just
announced, St. Pete PAWS is a new
initiative to encourage even more pet
friendly businesses and restaurants, as
well as strategize about how to reduce
pet homelessness. There are already
quite a number of pet-friendly businesses
that allow their staff to bring their dogs
to work with them. Local photographer
Laurie Ross has even published, “Shop
Dogs,” a photo essay showcasing the
growing number of St. Pete business
owners who couldn’t imagine going to
work each morning without their favorite
dogs by their side.
WHO LET
THE DOGS IN?
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