The University, students and the City of Raleigh have put forth money and effort to improve the heart of N.C. State — Hillsborough Street.

Students have put together events, such as the Hillsborough Hike and the Hillsborough Street Renaissance, and the City of Raleigh approved plans to improve Hillsborough Street in June.

The only way Hillsborough Street is going to improve is for its customers — made up of mostly students, to support businesses.

This doesn’t mean just visiting Hillsborough Street to buy a quick lunch. It means going there any time of day and also visiting it instead of going to alternative cities on the weekends, such as Chapel Hill or Greenville, on weekends or at night.

But students can only do so much, and Hillsborough Street needs cooperation from all sides.

The University can help support Hillsborough Street by integrating board bucks or meal plans into businesses along the street, which is a goal of the Campus Enterprise Division.

Student Body President Jim Ceresnak said being able to use board bucks or meal plans in businesses on Hillsborough Street would make it easier for students and would leave students with more options.

If the University goes through with this, it will not only boost business on Hillsborough Street, but it will also give students more options for places to eat or shop and may make the University more appealing to prospective students.

The City of Raleigh must also put forth more effort to help Hillsborough Street quickly.

The City of Raleigh has already approved almost $10 million for the Hillsborough Street Phase 1 Roundabout Project, which would make improvements from Gardner Street to Oberlin Road. Since the money for the project has already been put aside, Raleigh should begin construction as soon as possible. The day after graduation would be ideal.

The project may hurt businesses during the time of construction. Once it is done, Hillsborough Street will see an immediate impact. And Raleigh wants to see these changes soon, then it should do construction during summer vacation when there is significantly less traffic around campus.

Hillsborough Street needs a facelift to survive through hard economic times, and the only way it can get through it is if it has support from the University, students and the City of Raleigh.