Renovated Bird Key Park Opens

On Valentine’s Day, the City of Sarasota celebrated the opening of the renovated Bird Key Park with a ribbon cutting.

The $1.2 million park is located at the western base of the Ringling Bridge on the John Ringling Causeway.

Mayor Kelly Kirschner said you would be hard pressed to find a place where you can “jog, bike, kayak, windsurf and park your car next to a view like this.”

“This shows [our city’s] commitment to recreation, open spaces and access to waterfronts,” Kirschner added.

The City’s Multi-Use Recreational Trail (MURT), a ten-foot wide sidewalk for walkers, runners and bicyclists, now extends an additional 1,500 feet from the Ringling Bridge to the Coon Key Bridge.  That means you can travel from the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport to Bayfront Park and Bird Key Park via the MURT.  

The next phase, which begins in March, will connect Ben Franklin Drive to Lido Key Beach. The MURT project began in 2005. 

“I look forward to the day to take a bike ride with [my children] from Ringling, to here, all the way out to Payne Park,” Kirschner said.

Bird Key Park also now features Florida friendly landscaping, four water access points including a kayak launch, kayak wash rack, two covered picnic tables, enhanced lighting, environmentally friendly turf cell parking, a pet friendly water station and the ten-foot wide asphalt MURT.