Schoenbeck was speaking of the stretch of 20th Street, running north-south from Eugenia Street to Market Street, just east of Maggie O’Brien’s pub.

While Flake said that type of paving is historically fitting for a street in the once-bustling area around Union Station, he said the main reason it has remained intact is “because I guess no one has really complained and asked for it to be paved over,” he said.

Flake said in his 17 years with the street department, and nine years as commissioner, he has seen residents split passionately on what to do with old streets and alleys.

“The alleys used to all be brick, but we’ve paved over about 90 percent of them since 2010,” he said, adding that the change has not occurred without opposition.

“One time, we had residents standing in front of our equipment, saying ‘You’re not covering up this brick’,” he said.

So Flake said he leaves the decision-making up to the alderman of the ward — and their willingness to get “at least 75 percent of the residents of the block” to sign off on covering up brick or cobblestone.

Clearly, the benefit to using asphalt is cost, Flake explained.