Priorities
What Bo would work on.
Hicks has named three jobs for the open District 5 seat: finish the work already underway on the east side, make it easier for a small business to open and stay, and build a district people can walk. He would be one vote on a seven-member council.
Streets and sidewalks
01
What people see
University Boulevard East is torn up. The project runs through the district, and the construction is a headache for people who live and work along it. Sidewalks on that stretch have been thin or missing for a long time.
On the council
Stay with the project until it is finished, including the sidewalks and the shared-use path. When the work blocks a driveway or a shop, the district’s council member should be the one who picks up the phone.
Small businesses
02
What people see
Rent is up. Everything costs more. Storefronts sit empty while someone with a real idea cannot find a space, or cannot afford the one they find.
On the council
Help connect people who want to open with commercial space that is already empty. Look at what the city can do for smaller businesses, not only for a large recruitment. Hicks has put it as greasing the skid for someone who wants to be part of the district.
A district people use
03
What people see
People want to walk without worrying about the street. The tennis complex already gives the district a reason to show up. Much of the rest of District 5 is still waiting on one.
On the council
Push for sidewalks that actually connect, and for ordinary events that give people a reason to be in the district. Hicks has said he wants people to feel they can walk where they need to go.
And then listen
This list is a start.
Hicks has said he wants to hear the problem before he shows up with the fix. If a block in District 5 is dealing with something these three miss, that belongs on the list too.