Scenic Intersection Ramps: “Winning design chosen for Winter Park I-4 Ultimate ramp”

Scenic Intersection Ramps: “Winning design chosen for Winter Park I-4 Ultimate ramp”

Rendering: By RLF Architects

“Design selection by the Public Art Advisory Board was approved by the City Commission last month for a large-scale sculpture that will be installed at the new I-4 Ultimate on-ramp in Winter Park…

The installation will feature a long row of interconnected, multi-colored 18-foot poles…

The initiative is part of the I-4 Ultimate Art Endowment Program, funded by the I-4 Mobility Partners to the tune of $1.5 million. Six cities along the 21-mile stretch of the I-4 Ultimate corridor are responsible for choosing a winning design to be installed on their portion of the interstate…”

— Brendan O’Connor, Bungalower
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Scenic Intersection Murals: “City of Clearwater sponsoring paint the pavement placemaking project in the Skycrest neighborhood”

Scenic Intersection Murals: “City of Clearwater sponsoring paint the pavement placemaking project in the Skycrest neighborhood”

Photo: Steven Hirschfield – Artist and volunteers celebrating their new artwork in the City of Clearwater

“The City of Clearwater’s Neighborhoods Division sponsored a placemaking event Sunday with the painting of an intersection mural in the Skycrest neighborhood at Mars Avenue and Rainbow Drive.

The city has partnered with the Skycrest Neighborhood Association, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, artist Beth Warmath and local volunteers to paint the intersection throughout the day on Sunday, Feb. 21. The piece of community art below will promote togetherness and ell environmental stewardship, according to artist Beth Warmath.

‘I am honored to be a part of another wonderful project in bright and beautiful Clearwater,’ she said…”

Those interested in starting a project of their own can visit https://www.myclearwater.com/residents/placemaking-programs/paint-the-pavement for more information…”

— Steven Hirschfield, IONTB.com
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Sarasota: “A City of Visionaries, Roundabouts, and the Arts”

Sarasota: “A City of Visionaries, Roundabouts, and the Arts”

Photo: Nate Ilardi for City of Sarasota
The Jumping Fish sculpture stands 16 ft high by 12 ft wide in the center island of the modern roundabout at Cocoanut Avenue & Palm Avenue. The sculpture was selected from among 140 submissions and is the 84th piece in Sarasota’s Public Art Collection. It was sculpted in 2019 by Jeff Laramore.

“Sarasota, Florida is a city that has long proudly supported the arts.

The city’s vibrant arts scene includes the Ringling College of Art and Design, the famous Ringling Museum, an opera house, a ballet company, and the Sarasota Art Museum. Thanks to visionaries, the City’s Public Art Collection now includes downtown modern roundabouts graced with artworks.

Early on, then Sarasota City Engineer Dennis Daughters, then City Traffic Manager Sam Freija, and current City Engineer Alex Davis Shaw envisioned a downtown made more pedestrian friendly—and even more beautiful—with a collection of modern roundabouts. Today, their vision is coming to fruition.

‘We’re interested in the safety of walkability and connectivity to Sarasota Bay,” Downtown Sarasota Condo Association Transportation Committee Chair and Urban Planning Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati Roger Barry said. “The roundabouts help supply that and appear to be extremely successful. I think we’re kind of proud of the fact Sarasota is an art-focused community and the roundabouts are an expression of that…'”


Five Points Roundabout at Main Street & Pineapple Avenue. Photo: Ken Sides


Embracing Our Differences Roundabout at Main Street & Orange Avenue. Photo: Nate Ilardi for City of Sarasota


Photo: Bravo! Roundabout at Ringling Boulevard & Orange Avenue. Photo: Ken Sides


To help a skeptical public understand what it would get in return for giving up the two travel lanes, Sarasota-based Hoyt Architects Lab created a rendering depicting how different the three intersections could look with marine-themed public art in the roundabout central islands for the Fruitville Road roundabout. Image: Hoyt Architecture Lab.

— Ken Sides, Roads and Bridges

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NEW! Scenic Florida’s Section in the Bill Brinton Library devoted to Scenic Intersections

 

 

“Arbor Day celebration smaller because of pandemic, but still meaningful”

“Arbor Day celebration smaller because of pandemic, but still meaningful”

Photo: Meghan McCarthy, Palm Beach Daily

“Putting on gray work gloves and yellow helmets, students from local elementary schools Thursday morning helped celebrate Florida Arbor Day by planting a kapok tree at Phipps Ocean Park in Palm Beach.

‘This is hard work. But it’s real good to plant a tree,’ said Ryder Lazzaro, a third-grader at Palm Beach Day Academy.

The 13-foot-tall seedling, planted just east of the Little Red Schoolhouse at the park south of Sloane’s Curve, could grow to more than 100 feet tall and live more than 200 years.

The fast-growing trees, like the one on Lake Trail on the grounds of the Royal Poinciana Chapel, are known for luxurious canopies and thick buttress roots.

The Garden Club of Palm Beach organized the annual event, which was smaller this year because of the pandemic, said Garden Club President Mary Pressly.

‘We’re hoping to inspire students to help their community. Planting trees and watching them grow may motivate them to go into fields like conservation and botany,’ said Pressly, who was among about 40 other town officials, club members and students who gathered under cloudy skies for the event.

While the national Arbor Day observance is in April, Florida and other states celebrate the day to reflect their best planting time…”

— Bill DiPaolo, Special to the Daily News

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