Brick installation begins on 7th Avenue in Ybor City

TAMPA, Fla. - Ybor City is moving back in time, brick by brick. Work is underway to make historic 7th Avenue a brick street again.

"The last time bricks were put on 7th Avenue was 100 years ago," said Brenda Thrower, who heads up the project for the City of Tampa.

She says around 1960, the city took up the bricks and replaced them with asphalt. Many of those bricks were sold to other cities.

PREVIOUS: Bricks returning to Ybor City's 7th Avenue, work expected in phases over several years

Now bricks are being reinstalled, a block or two at a time, over the next two to three years.

All told, the project will cost an estimated $3 million, to be paid for through property taxes collected in special taxing districts in Ybor City.

The first section, between 15th and 17th streets, could be finished by this Friday.

The work will cause inconvenience for business owners on 7th Avenue, but Roberto Torres, President of Blind Tiger Coffee Roasters, said the effect on traffic and historical authenticity outweighs the trouble.

Engineers say brick streets cause drivers to slow down, making it safer and more enjoyable for pedestrians.

"Cars don't go down the street at 70 miles an hour," says Torres. "When people arrive at the airport and say, 'where to go?' It's Ybor City, something you have to experience and see."

Torres says a brick main drag in Ybor will also provide a better setting for the city to close off 7th Avenue for festivals, street fairs, and markets.

The plan calls for bricks to be installed on 7th Avenue between 15th and 22nd streets.

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