Property owners in Clovis hope to bring life back to Shaw Ave. with improvements

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Traffic can be seen along Shaw Avenue, but over the years that pattern has moved.

Red Carpet Car Wash Vice President Michael Bowie said, "Times change and the herd has moved north and there's a lot of competition out north now."

Red Carpet Car Wash is one of the businesses that's now supporting a property and business improvement, or P-Bid, for the Shaw corridor. Owners from highway 168 and Shaw to Shaw and Clovis would be assessed a fee to help improve the street.

"I think it's a great idea. I think we need to keep Shaw corridor viable and anything we can do to help that: improve an identity, maybe to improve the medians, the look, get some sort of theme going I think helps everyone on Shaw corridor," said Bowie.

Clovis residents said a new look could be good for those that are struggling to keep up.

Anthony Guerrero of Clovis said, "Some areas do need help and other areas are pretty good, but overall it could be picking up a little bit."

Owners would be charged based on their frontage along Shaw. Longtime business Hedrick Chevrolet said the business would pay a sizeable amount for the assessment. They would like to see the medians improved.

Hedrick Chevrolet Co-Owner Brett Hedrick said, "Sitting here at Shaw and 168, we're also the entrance to the city. So we would like it to look nice."

One of the challenges is getting all 86 property owners along Shaw invested. While 39 of them are local businesses or represented by a local company, the rest are from out of the area.

Bowie said, "A lot of the property owners are out of town. So getting a hold of them, or figuring out who owns the property to communicate with someone who lives in Dallas is why it's important to invest here when we live here, can sometimes be a challenge."

Business owners would oversee how the funds are used. Bowie said it is an investment in the city and businesses themselves.

The petition for the assessment is before business owners. They could vote on it in the summer and a decision would be made in July.