A small historic street in a Florida town now gets a fresh look that brings back its old style. The big road change tackles both issues at once. The new road makeover restores that classic appeal. It also reduces the risk to people walking nearby from fast cars driving by. Workers just started remodeling the road on 7th Avenue in Ybor City, which sits near Tampa Bay. They used roughly 60,000 bricks made from clay near the area in total for the new change. This keeps things natural and locally sourced.
Brick roads pop up everywhere around the globe, and in the US, they are less common, especially with the shift to asphalt roads. These streets add an old-time feel to any block, and just a new feeling when driving around. Not only do they look cool, but they also slow drivers down, too, just ask drivers who have bumped over them. The bumps rattle the car hard, depending on how fast one may be driving. And no one wants their cars to bump and shake while driving.
7th Avenue did, at one time, have brick-laid roads for many years. Then, asphalt took over back in the 1960s. Smooth asphalt seemed to give more of a modern look than the brick-laid look. Local shop owners and people in the community fought for this switch. The goal was always to try to make the street safe for workers, kids, senior citizens, and all the other people who may be walking. and as well as making it safer, it can also draw more crowds to downtown Ybor’s fun spots.
As unsafe as it is, people driving their vehicles can sometimes drive recklessly on asphalt; we’ve seen it happen for decades in the past with accidents of all forms. However, the use of brick-laid roads can try to force them to drive much more safely and responsibly to keep themselves safe, and others around them safe. Driving slower and more safely always means fewer close calls for kids or people crossing the street.
Ybor City began in 1886, and cigar makers from abroad started it, drawing workers from Cuba, Italy, and Spain. The neighborhood was filled with factories and smells of tobacco. Today, the past lives throughout the small town and in the buildings; redoing the brick roads on 7th Avenue revives it all.
