CLEARWATER, Fla. — Clearwater Beach in Pinellas County draws hundreds of thousands of people to the area, but most of those tourists are hanging by the water, and not venturing around downtown.
It’s why local leaders have a plan in the works to turn that around.
It’s all part of a project called Imagine Clearwater. It’s a plan to connect the waterfront to the downtown Clearwater community.
The downtown improvement project has been years in the making. Crews are now working on fixing roadways like those running through the heart of downtown Clearwater, including Cleveland Street and Gulf to Bay Boulevard.
This part of the project is $12 million and it’s almost halfway done.
It will include new sidewalks, bike lanes, safer intersections, turn lanes, on-street parking and more.
It will also include a festival area meant to host community activities like farmer's markets and local events.
The goal is to make the downtown Clearwater experience more pedestrian-friendly and safer.
This part of the project is set to be completed early next year.
In addition to the improvement projects, The Downtown Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency is currently working on promoting another experience in downtown Clearwater at the Clearwater Public Library called the Clyde Butcher Exhibit.
It opened in November 2021, they opened the art exhibit in an area of the building that was built out to be a dedicated gallery space.
This exhibit is “America’s Everglades: Through the Lens of Clyde Butcher.” This exhibit showcases Butcher’s iconic large-scale black and white photography from the Everglades. This exhibit is on display through May 31, 2022, and is open during library hours.
In addition, Clyde Butcher will be doing a lecture a block away from this exhibit in Downtown Clearwater at The Capitol Theatre.
This lecture at 7 p.m. on March 30 will provide people the opportunity to learn about this career and his experiences in the Everglades. Clyde will be signing books before and after the lecture at the theatre.
Both of these events are free. Free parking is available.
On March 30 the library will be open for extended hours until 9:00 pm so people attending the lecture have the opportunity to see the exhibit after the lecture.