LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Part of Lubbock’s comprehensive 2040 plan is assessing how some neighborhoods in east and north Lubbock are doing and what can be done better to make them thrive.
The Arnett Benson neighborhood, located just north of the Texas Tech campus, is one of four neighborhoods in Lubbock currently under evaluation.
Neighborhood planner Wilson Bowling said the city looked into statistics including the poverty rate, homeownership rate and median income to determine where they needed to take a closer look.
“The ones who scored really the highest were the ones that, based on these metrics, had the most need,” Bowling said.
Meetings with community members in Arnett Benson began in March, with phase one introducing what the city looks to accomplish, while phase two explores existing conditions.
“What is it like today? What are the good things we can replicate in other places? What are the issues that need to be fixed? What are things that we don’t know that we might not necessarily see if I were just to drive around the neighborhood?” Bowling said.
Bowling said Arnett Benson is one of the older neighborhoods in Lubbock. But a positive residents have brought up in these meetings is how tight-knit they are.
On the flip side, they have mentioned bike and pedestrian safety is something that needs to be addressed. Bowling said the city is currently in month three of a year-long research project.
The city will close phase two on Thursday to cover some lingering issues, then will invite the Arnett Benson neighborhood on June 25 to begin phase three. It will dig deeper into what the neighborhood wants before Bowling creates a vision statement to present to the city.
“There are a lot of great things going for the neighborhood, we just want to give it that little extra edge to really, really make the people really want to stay there forever,” Bowling said.
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