Franklin Street has long been one of Chapel Hill’s staple attractions, with its many shops and restaurants to its reputation as the site of UNC basketball victory celebrations.
No UNC student or visitor to Chapel Hill leaves without some memory of Franklin Street. That’s why it’s important for all Chapel Hill residents to pitch in to help maintain its aesthetic charm and beauty.
Whenever a person visits a town or a city, their impression of that town or city is influenced by its cleanliness and how well maintained it is. The same is true for Chapel Hill. One of the reasons people have fallen in love with our city is because it’s simply a neatly organized, manicured community that takes pride in how it presents itself.
Few college students can honestly say that the appearance of the town or university they chose to attend did not affect where they chose to go to school. With that, it’s important that Franklin Street be preserved to continue attracting prospective students.
Recently, however, Franklin Street hasn’t been maintained as well as it should be. Until recently, several flower beds along the street sat unkept and overgrown — an eyesore to any visitor — and little was ever done to address their declining state.
However, the Chapel Hill Garden Club has been making efforts to restore these flower beds to their former glory. But, there is more that could be done.
By a collaborative effort between various community groups, both private and public, community members should help restore and maintain parts of Franklin Street that have gone unchecked in recent years.
Only then can members of the Chapel Hill community fully appreciate the value Franklin Street has for each of us.
