Despite its historical value, the brick street on Broadway Avenue between Stebbins Drive and Oakland Avenue will be replaced with concrete.  

The motion to replace the streets was passed by the Urbana City Council during their meeting on Monday. Over the years, the street has become run down and deteriorated due to heavy traffic. 

Alderwoman Diane Marlin, Ward 7, said even though the brick streets are part of the city’s history and are more aesthetically pleasing, she stands by her vote to replace them with concrete because it is most practical in terms of cost.

“One is the cost. The second was the comment last week about being able to focus on maintaining the other brick streets in town, and third, this is two blocks of brick on the entire stretch of Broadway,” Marlin said. “So all in all, I think we’d be better off making the most cost-effective decision here.”

Marlin also said the area receives a lot of traffic, and the concrete would hold up better than brick.

During the previous meeting of the council’s Committee of the Whole, the council decided it would be better to reconstruct with concrete because it would cost between $350,000 and $400,00 rather than over $600,000. Though there were concerns about taking away a historic part of Urbana, the city council passed the motion unanimously. 

Fatima can be reached at [email protected].