Temple Terrace residents paint an eye-popping design on neighborhood streets

TEMPLE TERRACE — This is a pretty town. In one spot, even the pavement is pretty.

Scores of people converged on the intersection of Glen Ridge and Inverness avenues recently to paint a splashy design of eye-popping colors on the pavement. Created by artist Ameena Khan, the design features a stylized Hillsborough River, flowers and three oranges, which is fitting since the city gets its name from the Temple orange, which grew here in abundance in the 1920s.

Kim Straub of the Temple Terrace Arts Council spent two years promoting the project, winning the approval of the city. Neighborhood residents Linda Garcia and George Adriaansen sponsored the project, helping pay for the paint. It's the same kind used for traffic markings, so it should last a while, Straub said.

She was thrilled by the turnout, saying some 200 people showed up to pitch in.

"I have to tell you, I was pleasantly surprised,'' Straub said.

Straub got the inspiration from other cities that have done this. The first she heard about was a three-dimensional tiger claw design on a street New Delhi, India about 2015. It's been done in Boston and Portland, Ore. And in Tampa, Seminole Heights got a street design in 2017.

Volunteers, including toddlers and Straub's 84-year-old neighbor, gathered on a Saturday morning in mid-May to paint. Earlier that morning, Khan had sketched out the outline in chalk. The volunteers were finished painting in about 2 ½ hours, Straub said.

"It was amazing.''

Contact Philip Morgan at pmorgan@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3435.