The first phase of a long-discussed construction project has returned 1500 and 1600 blocks of Ybor City's East Seventh Avenue to a brick road for the first time since the 1960s. Michael Murphy

The City of Tampa's Ybor City Community Redevelopment Agency is funding the Seventh Avenue bricking project with property tax revenues generated in the Ybor CRA district. Michael Murphy

The first phase of the Ybor City Seventh Avenue bricking project ran from 15th to 17th streets. The full project will return Seventh to brick from Nick Nuccio Parkway to 26th Street. Michael Murphy

The crowd seeks out some shade on the sidewalk during the August 20th bricklaying ceremony and ribbon-cutting to celebrate the finish of the first phase of a project returning Ybor City's East Seventh Avenue to a brick road. Michael Murphy

The crowd lined the sidewalk to celebrate East Seventh Avenue's return to brick Michael Murphy

East Seventh Avenue is returning to brick. It's time to celebrate Ybor City's history, culture and cuisine. Michael Murphy

Tampa city officials celebrate the completion of the first phase of the East Seventh Avenue bricking with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting. Michael Murphy

Transportation tidbits: New SunRunner station, Tampa e-bike vouchers, Ybor brick project

Christopher Curry | Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Approximately 80,000 bricks were used during the Ybor City Seventh Avenue rebricking project's first phase, which covered the two blocks from 15th to 17th streets. City of Tampa

PSTA marked the impending start of construction on a new SunRunner station in downtown St. Pete with an August 16th groundbreaking ceremony. Courtesy PSTA

PSTA plans to open a new SunRunner station at 150 North First Ave. in downtown St. Petersburg by the end of the year. Provided by PSTA

Tampa residents test out e-bikes at an e-bike rodeo event. The city is accepting applications for its e-bike voucher program through 5 p.m. August 30th.

A nice-sized crowd seeks out some shade during the City of Tampa's August 20th bricklaying ceremony and ribbon-cutting to celebrate the finish of the first phase of a project returning Ybor City's East Seventh Avenue to a brick road. Michael Murphy

New SunRunner station coming

The Tampa Bay region’s first bus rapid transit system is adding a new station in downtown St. Pete. The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority SunRunner system’s next stop will be at 150 First Ave. N. near the Sundial parking garage. During an August 16th press announcement, PSTA CEO Brad Miller says the new station drops passengers closer to Beach Drive, the Cross Bay Ferry and the St. Pete Pier. PSTA expects the station to be open by the end of 2024. Miller says service to the new station will have 15-minute headways until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. PSTA has three new 40-foot hybrid buses to meet ridership demand, which spikes during special events like the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Localtopia, Halloween on Central and the St. Pete Pride Parade Festival.

The start of construction on the new SunRunner station continues a noteworthy summer stretch for PSTA. During the June 22nd St. Pete Pride Parade Festival, SunRunner had its highest single-day ridership, nearly 5,800 passengers. In July, the Federal Transit Administration awarded PSTA $27.8 million in federal grants to purchase at least 16 all-electric and hybrid-electric buses for its fleet. That is the largest discretionary grant in the agency’s history.

Also in July, the American Public Transportation Association recognized PSTA with its Excellence in Inclusive Collaboration Award for its collaboration on SunRunner with Jones Worley, an African-American woman-owned disadvantaged business enterprise and H.W. Lochner, the primary engineer of record for the bus rapid transit system.

Tampa e-bike voucher program

The City of Tampa is taking applications for its e-bike voucher program until 5 p.m. on Friday, August 30th. The voucher program is open to all Tampa city residents ages 18 and up and offers upfront discounts on the purchase price of an e-bike at five participating bike shops. Standard vouchers are $1,000, with $2,000 and $3,000 vouchers available for low and very low income levels.

City of TampaTampa is accepting applications from city residents for its e-bike voucher program through 5 p.m. August 30th.The vouchers are good for discounts on class 1 and class 2 (throttle-assisted) e-bikes. Voucher recipients are chosen through a random lottery-style drawing. Tampa residents who applied for the voucher program in the spring cycle and were not selected are automatically rolled into this application cycle. There are 108 vouchers available this application cycle. Tampa has e-bike rodeo events to test drive bikes and learn more about the voucher program on August 21st at Lykes Gaslight Square Park, August 26th at Rowlett Park and August 28th at Jan Platt Library. Each event runs from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

For more information, go to Tampa e-bike voucher program.

Ybor Seventh Avenue brick project

The first phase of the project re-bricking Ybor City’s Seventh Avenue is finished.

An August 20th ribbon-cutting and bricklaying ceremony marked the completion of work along the two-block stretch of Seventh from 15th to 17th streets. The full project

City of TampaIt took approximately 80,000 bricks to return the 1500 and 1600 blocks of Seventh Avenue in Ybor City to a brick road. will return Seventh to a brick road from Nick Nuccio Parkway to 26th Street. It’s being done in phases to limit road closures and detours. The main stretch through the Ybor City Historic District, Seventh Avenue was a brick road until the 1960s, when it was paved with asphalt.

For more information, go to Seventh Avenue bricking project

Read more articles by Christopher Curry.

Chris Curry has been a writer for the 83 Degrees Media team since 2017. Chris also served as the development editor for a time before assuming the role of managing editor in May 2022. Chris lives in Clearwater. His professional career includes more than 15 years as a newspaper reporter, primarily in Ocala and Gainesville, before moving back home to the Tampa Bay Area. He enjoys the local music scene, the warm winters and Tampa Bay's abundance of outdoor festivals and events. When he's not working or spending time with family, he can frequently be found hoofing the trails at one of Pinellas County's nature parks.