Business View Civil Municipal - July 2023

83 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 7 CAPE CORAL , FLORIDA “Events are a big draw for our city both from a tourism perspective as well as keeping residents busy with things to do and so they don’t have to go elsewhere,” Joe Petrella, Parks and Recreation Director, says. “One of the big ones is our red, white, and boom, which is our fourth of July celebration- it’s a big draw- and it takes place right off the Cape Coral bridges, he describes. “It is a very popular event that we take pride in.” The city has only hit the tip of the iceberg when it comes to taking advantage of its outdoor potential. Cape Coral also hosts an annual bike ride through the city that routinely draws hundreds of riders from the US and worldwide. The city is friendly to bicyclists and motorcyclists alike. The city of Cape Coral puts on three Bike Nights each year, which are free and feature motorcycles, vendors, food trucks, and live entertainment. “The Bike Nights are really huge for us, and we host three of them that really focus on our downtown core and commercial and retail district,” Petrella enthuses. “It draws in tens of thousands of people each night who get to see local bands play, and it brings business to our local businesses in the downtown area.” Following its 2016 master plan, a top priority for the city is to expand on its already impressive list of events by adding new holiday events. “We really pride ourselves on providing quality, top-of-the-line, local, regional, and national entertainers to be part of our events,” Petrella points out. Paving the ‘growth path’ with infrastructure upgrades “For the past ten years, we have had a very robust paving program,” Persides Zambaro, Interim Public Works Director, answers when asked about the pressing topic of current and planned infrastructure initiatives that are in the works for the city.