Every 5 years, someone new runs for council on “pave the brick streets.” Every 5 years, they lose.
The bricks are on Donnelly, 5th, Alexander, and a few alleys. They went in during the 1920s. They’re loud, bumpy, and slick when wet. They also slow cars to 15mph, scare off chain stores, and sound like history when you drive them.
The argument for paving: safer, smoother, cheaper to maintain. The argument against: the noise is the point. You hear cars coming. You drive slow. Kids and golf carts and tourists share the road. The bumps tell you you’re somewhere, not nowhere.
Engineers say asphalt lasts 15 years. Bricks last 100 with spot repair. They also drain better. Water goes between them into the sand. After a storm, brick streets are dry first.
The real reason they stay: identity. Take the bricks and Mount Dora is any Florida town. Keep them and it’s Mount Dora. The town decided identity is worth the rattle.
Local Tip: Let some air out of your tires. 30psi instead of 35. You’ll still feel it, but your coffee won’t spill. And if you’re on a bike, ride the edge where the bricks are flattest.