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Nearly $3 Million Planned to Make Routes Around Two Brandon Schools Safer

By Ralph

For students who walk or bicycle to Brandon High School and Limona Elementary School, getting to class could eventually become safer and more comfortable.

Hillsborough County is moving forward with a $2.97 million Safe Routes to School project designed to improve pedestrian and bicycle routes serving the two Brandon schools.

The project is currently in the design phase, with construction scheduled to begin in early 2027 and finish in early 2028, according to Hillsborough County's current project schedule.

Why These Two Schools?

The project didn't begin simply because officials decided the area could use a few new sidewalks.

Hillsborough County says student walking routes were identified and studied specifically to determine where pedestrian and bicycle improvements could increase safety and comfort for students traveling to and from school.

Those improvements were discussed with Hillsborough County Public Schools, advisory committees and members of the community before being finalized.

The effort stems from a broader county school-route safety program. Hillsborough's transportation planning process evaluated schools using factors including students' exposure to traffic, crashes and socioeconomic conditions. More than a dozen schools in unincorporated Hillsborough County were subsequently grouped into project areas based partly on overlapping attendance boundaries.

Brandon High and Limona Elementary became one of those paired project areas.

Where the Money Is Going

The current project budget totals $2,970,846.95.

Of that:

• $2.4 million is budgeted for construction.
• About $450,265 is allocated to design and land.
• Approximately $120,582 is allocated to planning.

That's a substantial investment aimed specifically at people traveling around the area without a car.

And while the county's current project page describes the work broadly as pedestrian and bicycle improvements, earlier planning for the project examined issues such as incomplete or poorly maintained sidewalks, traffic controls, lighting, traffic volumes and crashes.

The Timing Is Particularly Important

The project comes as families around Brandon High are already dealing with another major infrastructure project.

Pipeline construction on Victoria Street, directly adjacent to Brandon High, has temporarily changed how students, parents, teachers and visitors reach the school.

As of the latest construction notice, Victoria Street is closed to through traffic from Meade Street to North Parsons Avenue, with school traffic being directed to approach from the west using Limona Road and Meade Street.

Students walking or bicycling from east of the high school are being directed to use the existing sidewalk along the south side of Victoria Street between Brandon High and North Kings Avenue. Temporary fencing is being installed between that sidewalk and the construction area to provide a safer passage.

That pipeline construction is separate from the Safe Routes to School project, but together the two projects highlight just how much transportation infrastructure around Brandon High is currently changing.

What Happens Next?

According to Hillsborough County's latest published schedule, the Safe Routes project is in design, with construction expected to begin in early 2027.

The county currently expects the work to be completed in early 2028. Officials caution that project costs and schedules are estimates and can change; the county says those figures are updated weekly.

Residents can also submit comments or questions about the project through Hillsborough County.

Hillsborough County — Brandon High & Limona Elementary Safe Routes to School project

What It Means for Brandon

For most drivers, sidewalks, crossings and bicycle routes can be easy to overlook.

For a student who uses them every morning and afternoon, they're considerably more important.

Nearly $3 million is now committed to improving those routes around two longtime Brandon schools.

The construction won't happen overnight. But when the work is completed, the goal is straightforward: give Brandon students a safer way to make one of the most familiar trips they'll ever take—the trip to and from school.

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When the Railroad Helped Turn a Tiny Settlement Into Brandon

By Ralph

Drive through Brandon today and it's difficult to imagine this community without busy roads, shopping centers, schools, restaurants and neighborhoods stretching in almost every direction.

But go back to 1890, and Brandon was a very different place.

There was no sprawling suburb east of Tampa. The community was known as New Hope, and cattle, citrus groves and farmland dominated the landscape.

Then the railroad came through—and the future Brandon began taking shape.

Before There Was Brandon

The Brandon story begins with John Brandon, who came to this area in the 1850s.

John and his family settled in what was then known as New Hope. After the death of his first wife, he eventually returned to the area with his second wife, Victoria, and established another homestead.

John died in 1886, but Victoria would play an important role in what happened next.

The Railroad Changes Everything

Railroads were transforming Hillsborough County during the late 1800s, connecting small agricultural communities with larger cities and markets.

In 1890, the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad laid tracks through the area.

Victoria Brandon saw an opportunity.

Working with railroad civil engineer C.S. Noble, she had approximately 40 acres surveyed and platted for a townsite.

The new community was given a new name:

Brandon — in honor of her late husband, John.

But Victoria apparently wasn't content merely having railroad tracks pass through town.

Historical accounts say nearby Limona had a depot while the railroad initially declined to give Brandon one of its own. Victoria rallied local residents and helped raise the money needed to construct a frame depot for Brandon.

That depot remained until the 1940s.

Welcome to Downtown Brandon — 1890 Style

If you could stand near Victoria Street and Moon Avenue around the turn of the 20th century, you would have been near the center of town.

Within the immediate area were the railroad depot, Galvin's General Store, Varn's citrus packing house and the U.S. Post Office.

That post office was established on September 15, 1890, with Victoria Brandon serving as Brandon's first postmistress.

Instead of today's traffic and development, the surrounding countryside was populated by pioneer families raising cattle, growing citrus and farming their land.

For those early residents, the railroad was far more than transportation.

It connected their little community with the outside world.

THEN: The Railroad Was Something People Wanted

Here's an interesting difference between Brandon then and Brandon now.

Today, living next to railroad tracks isn't usually considered a selling point.

In the late 1800s, railroad access could mean economic survival for a small community.

Trains carried passengers, mail and agricultural products to Tampa and beyond. Businesses and packing houses developed around rail access.

Communities fortunate enough to secure stops could gain an advantage over those that didn't.

That's why Victoria Brandon's determination to secure a depot mattered.

She wasn't simply asking for somewhere to catch a train.

She was helping position the young community for growth.

NOW: You Might Drive Past the Old Center of Town Without Knowing It

Modern Brandon no longer revolves around a railroad depot.

The depot itself disappeared decades ago.

And what residents consider the "center" of Brandon has changed dramatically as development spread outward.

But Moon Avenue and Victoria Street remain, carrying the names and geography of a much earlier Brandon.

There are other pieces of that history hiding in plain sight as well. The Brandon Masonic Lodge has occupied its Moon Avenue location since 1924, a reminder of the period when Moon Avenue was at the heart of community life.

A Piece of Brandon's Beginning Has Just Been Preserved

There's a timely reason to revisit this history.

On May 5, 2026, the Brandon Rotary Club and Hillsborough County Historical Advisory Council dedicated a new historical marker recognizing Brandon's establishment in 1890.

The marker, located at the Rivard-Simmons Rotary Event Center on South Kings Avenue, replaced one originally erected during Brandon's centennial celebration in 1990.

It's a small reminder of a very large transformation.

Brandon Then & Now

THEN: A tiny agricultural settlement surrounded by cattle, citrus and farmland, hoping the railroad would stop.

NOW: A large suburban community where tens of thousands of people live, work, shop, attend school and raise families.

Yet underneath today's Brandon, the original town is still there.

Moon Avenue.

Victoria Street.

The old homesteads.

The names.

And the story of a widow named Victoria Brandon who recognized that a railroad could give a small community an opportunity to grow.

More than 135 years later, we're still calling that community Brandon.

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Every place that people call home is quietly extraordinary — it just takes a stranger's eye or a neighbor's pride to finally see it.

A Little Piece of Berlin Has Been Serving Brandon for Nearly 15 Years

By Ralph

Tucked away at 526 Oakfield Drive, not far from Brandon Regional Hospital, is a small restaurant where schnitzel, sauerbraten, spaetzle and currywurst have been bringing a taste of Germany to Brandon for nearly 15 years.

Taste of Berlin German Cuisine isn't a national chain or a German-themed concept created by a restaurant corporation.

Its roots actually lead back to Berlin.

From Berlin to Brandon

When Holger and Margitta Engel opened Taste of Berlin in Brandon in late 2011, they weren't newcomers to the restaurant business.

The couple had spent years operating Engel's Party Service, their own restaurant and catering business in Berlin, before moving to the United States.

Their connection to the Brandon area came through family. Their son, Bo, and Margitta's sister were already living nearby, and the Engels had visited the area before deciding to make the move themselves.

Shortly afterward, they brought something with them:

the food they knew from home.

Taste of Berlin opened on Oakfield Drive and promoted itself as Brandon's first authentic German restaurant.

What's on the Table?

The restaurant concentrates on traditional German comfort food rather than trying to make the menu enormous.

Schnitzel plays a starring role, with several preparations available.

Other traditional offerings include sauerbraten, beef roulade, bratwurst, Berliner currywurst, spaetzle, red cabbage, sauerkraut and bread dumplings.

One item particularly reflects the owners' roots.

Berliner Currywurst consists of sausage served with a curry-style ketchup sauce. Taste of Berlin makes its own version of the sauce.

And don't forget dessert.

The restaurant lists traditional selections including apple strudel and German plum cake. German beer and wine are also available.

Small Is Part of the Experience

Taste of Berlin isn't a sprawling restaurant.

It's a relatively small neighborhood dining room, and that appears to be part of its character. Current information describes it as a cozy, casual dinner spot rather than a large German beer hall.

The restaurant remains in the same Oakfield Drive location where Holger and Margitta established it years ago.

For a locally owned restaurant, that's no small accomplishment.

Did You Know?

When the Engels opened Taste of Berlin, they had been living in the United States for only about a year.

Holger had decades of culinary experience behind him, but he still spent time learning what Brandon diners liked before opening the restaurant.

In a 2012 interview shortly after the restaurant opened, he explained that he had been helping at his son's nearby restaurant while becoming familiar with local tastes.

More than a decade later, Taste of Berlin is still serving Brandon from that same little restaurant.

Know Before You Go

Taste of Berlin German Cuisine
📍 526 Oakfield Drive, Brandon, FL 33511
📞 (813) 685-9392

Current published hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 4:30–8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 4:30–8:30 p.m. The restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday.

Because hours and menu availability can change, we'd recommend calling ahead before making a special trip.

The Crosstown Takeaway

One of the reasons we created Crosstown Eats was to find places around Brandon that have a story behind the sign out front.

Taste of Berlin certainly has one.

A husband and wife leave Germany, move thousands of miles from Berlin to Florida, bring decades of restaurant experience with them and open a small German restaurant in Brandon.

Nearly 15 years later, that restaurant is still here.

And you don't need a plane ticket to Berlin to find it.

You just need to know where to look on Oakfield Drive.

A Full House on Falkenburg Road: Could One More Pet Find a Home?

By Ralph

Sometimes the numbers tell the story.

Earlier this month, Hillsborough County's Pet Resource Center reported having more than 400 dogs and cats in its care.

By August 13, the county said the shelter was caring for almost 300 dogs and more than 150 cats—

putting the facility well above capacity.

That's a lot of animals waiting for the same thing:

Someone to take them home.

For the remainder of August, Hillsborough County is trying to make that a little easier.

Adoption Fees Waived Through August

The Pet Resource Center is participating in the nationwide Clear the Shelters campaign, and Hillsborough County has waived adoption fees throughout August.

The annual campaign brings shelters and communities together to encourage pet adoption and raise awareness about animals waiting for permanent homes.

For Hillsborough County, the timing couldn't be more important.

The county currently describes the Pet Resource

Center as over capacity for both dogs and cats.

Right Down Falkenburg Road

For Brandon residents, these animals aren't sitting in a shelter on the other side of the county.

The Pet Resource Center is located at:

440 N. Falkenburg Road
Tampa, FL 33619

That's just west of Brandon.

The shelter is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Residents can browse available animals through the county's online kennel before making the trip.

View Hillsborough County's adoptable dogs and cats

What Happens When You Find One?

Seeing a photograph online is only the beginning.

Adoptions must be completed in person, and they're handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

After checking in at the shelter, a staff member or volunteer can help you meet an animal you're interested in. Hillsborough County encourages that meet-and-greet because it gives you an opportunity to spend some time together before making the decision.

Potential adopters must be at least 18 years old and provide valid photo identification.

More Than Just an Adoption

Many animals designated by the shelter as “ready-to-go” have already completed their required stray-hold period and have been vaccinated, microchipped and spayed or neutered.

That's important because bringing home an animal isn't simply about walking through the shelter, choosing a dog or cat and heading home.

It's the beginning of what could be a commitment lasting many years.

Food, veterinary care, exercise, training, housing and everyday attention all become part of the responsibility.

A waived adoption fee makes adoption less expensive. It doesn't make pet ownership free.

That's something worth considering before falling in love with the face looking back at you from a kennel.

Can't Adopt? There's Another Way to Help

A permanent adoption isn't the only option.

The Pet Resource Center also needs foster families who can temporarily care for animals outside the shelter. The county specifically cited the need for both adopters and foster parents as it deals with the current overcrowding.

Fostering can give an animal a break from the shelter environment while also opening kennel space for

another animal that needs it.

Know Before You Go

Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center
📍 440 N. Falkenburg Road, Tampa, FL 33619
🕙 Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
📞 (813) 301-PETS (7387)
✉️ PetInfo@HCFL.gov
Adoption fees: Waived through August 2026

Pet Resource Center information

The Crosstown Paws Takeaway

We always want Crosstown Paws to be more than pictures of cute animals.

Sometimes there is an opportunity for our readers to make a real difference.

Right now, hundreds of dogs and cats are sitting just a few miles from Brandon waiting for homes while the county shelter operates above capacity.

Not everyone should adopt a pet.

But perhaps somewhere in those kennels is a dog or cat that belongs with someone reading this.

And through the end of August, there's one less barrier standing between them and home.