A business improvement district is in the works for Hillsborough Street. The move has excited some business owners, but others are still wary of change.
RALEIGH -- A business improvement district is in the works for Hillsborough Street. N.C. State, the Hillsborough Street Partnership, and the city of Raleigh are joining forces to create the Business Improvement District, or BID.
The aim of BID is to make things better for businesses along the street, but some merchants say they are afraid too many improvements could end up being bad for business.
"With the foot traffic and the way the traffic is now, if it ain't broke don't fix it,” said Ronnie Massey, a manager at the Shoe Shop on Hillsborough Street. The shop has been in Massey’s family since 1982, and he says business has never been better.
"I think, especially in these times when a lot of people will tell you business has fallen off and everything, here we're actually blooming,” he added.
In theory, Massey supports the idea of a business Improvement District for Hillsborough Street. The BID’s aim is to make things better for businesses along the street. It would let participating merchants pool their money to pay for things like police officers, graffiti clean up, and security cameras.
But Massey says he is not sold on anything beyond decorative improvements.
"If you start fumbling with the traffic then you get people a little antsy about well, the last time I went to Hillsborough Street, it was easy to get down there, but now it takes 15 more minutes, and that's what we're really afraid of,” he said.
The proposed BID will run from St. Mary's school Meredith College. It covers a total of 121 acres and 2.5 million square feet.
The Coffee Haven coffee shop lies within the Hillsborough Street BID, and employee Graham Whedon says he understands the need for improvement.
"Compared to Franklin Street, it's not quite up there,” he said.
At the Shoe Shop, Massey says Hillsborough Street never will be the next Franklin Street, and that’s just fine.
"We don't necessarily want to be that,” he said. “They have their own way of doing things and Hillsborough Street is different." In his eyes, it's different in a way that doesn't need fixing.
Raleigh planning leaders point to the Downtown Raleigh Alliance as an example of a successful BID. The city plans to hold a public hearing on the Hillsborough Street BID in six weeks.