The crowd for the Hillsborough Hike Friday night did not reach the expectations of some businesses, but Alan Lovette, owner of Melvin’s Hamburgers, said the event was still a success.Lovette said the crowd Dec. 5 did not match the crowd on hand for the Haunted Hike on Halloween. “The hike went well and there were very few problems,” Lovette said. “It was an extremely cold night so it wasn’t as busy as Halloween, but all the businesses were extremely pleased.”Student Body President Jay Dawkins said he also noticed the difference in Friday’s hike and the Halloween event.”I thought it was pretty good,” Dawkins, a junior in civil engineering, said. “It wasn’t like Halloween, but it was pretty good. It was good to see seniors graduating in the fall get one last hoorah.”Caroline Bernet, a senior in accounting, said the crowd for Friday was definitely less than normal. “There wasn’t a lot of peope but that made it better becuase you didn’t have to wait in line,” she said. “I went with a group of people, so it was still fun.”Lovette said he noticed that the weather had an impact on how many businesses students stopped at Friday. “I was standing on the sidewalk watching people and they were skipping establishments to get down the street faster,” he said. Bernet said she didn’t understand why the cold weather would have impacted turnout substantially. “It was cold, but I don’t know why people wouldn’t have gone because of that,” she said. “You have to bundle up before you go out there, and because the lines were shorter, you weren’t outside as long.”Construction to beginin 2009The plans for Hillsborough Street improvements, which have been in discussion for more than two years, will get underway during the spring semester, Dawkins said. Lovette said the future of events on Hillsborough Street like the hike will be critical for the success of the plans to improve the street overall. Three events planned for the spring, Lovette said, will offer students an opportunity to get involved. The Hillsborough Street Reniessance and St. Patty’s Day Pajama Party, both scheduled for March, coupled with the end of semester hike will give students three major events to visit many Hillsborough Street businesses, Lovette said. Dawkins, a junior in civil engineering, said students could play an important role in the success of Hillsborough Street businesses during construction, which is scheduled to begin in March. “It’s going to happen,” Dawkins said of the improvements to the street. “Students need to stay involved and make sure the businesses stay alive during construction. Hillsborough Street is the front door to our campus.”Lovette said the three most important things that need to happen to help Hillsborough Street are the creation of a buffer to prevent the homeless from asking for money, improvements to parking and parking signage and the ability for students to use their meal plan or board bucks in Hillsborough Street businesses. “There are a lot of other issues that are problems, but those three things are the main problems,” Lovette said. Dawkins said the changes to Hillsborough Street provide an opportunity for students to realize the long history of the street. “Hillsborough Street is such a rich part of the history of the University,” Dawkins said. “It wouldbe great to re-engage that part of campus. This construction process will go a long way to do that.”