CONNECT PINELLAS
Connect Pinellas, Inc. is a Florida not-for-profit organization aiming to support transit and people-focused initiatives in Pinellas County. We encourage the community to use alternative forms of transportation through education about access and the facilitation of community-driven, quick turnaround small infrastructure projects to help improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.
WHY WE EXIST
Pinellas County is in desperate need of safer pedestrian and bike infrastructure.
In 2024, according to the Florida Traffic Safety Dashboard, there were a total of 688 serious injuries and 111 deaths reported; of those numbers, pedestrians and bicyclists made up 163 of the serious injuries and 45 of the fatalities. (Source: https://signal4analytics.com). Note that this reporting only includes crashes where a motor vehicle was involved and police were called. Unfortunately, in Pinellas County, the disproportionate deaths of pedestrians and bicyclists are not new. In fact, according to Smart Growth America’s Dangerous by Design report, the St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Tampa metro is ranked 8th in the most dangerous metro areas based on data collected from 2018 through 2022 (Source: https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/signature-reports/dangerous-by-design/rankings/) .
WHAT WE DO
Our fundraising efforts and membership fees go directly into our community to increase safety, reliability, and enjoyment of our infrastructure for cyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders in Pinellas County.
Bicycle
Connect Pinellas fundraises for our annual bike donation drive, where we partner with a local non-profit in Pinellas County to give out bikes to those who otherwise could not afford them.
Quick Build Projects
Our quick-build project fund is dedicated to safety projects that have a quick turnaround with minimal governmental red tape. We are currently fundraising for bus benches and zebra bike lane separators, which are black and white striped separators, to create physically separated and safer bike lanes.
Bike Shelter
Covered and locked Bike Shelters along key bus corridors: Our goal is to work with local governments to help decrease risk on known dangerous infrastructure through helping fund and coordinate better and safer bike parking solutions. These shelters get bikes off the roads, where both the bicyclist and the car driver are put at greater risk of accidents.
Community Events
Connect Pinellas attends and creates community events where we educate locals on how, why, and when they can best go car-free. A portion of the donations we receive goes into planning and funding these events.
Advocacy Initiatives
One of our main goals is to increase transit access and better pedestrian and cycling infrastructure for communities wishing for such improvements. As part of this mission, we work directly with the community and advocate for change in Pinellas County.