Community Idea Board
What do you love? What would you like to see improved? What opportunities can you think of?
Use this page to share ideas and upload photos! As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words -- share photos of inspirational ideas or local places in the Borough of State College you'd like to see improved. Help us understand what ideas really resonate with you by clicking the "heart" icon below those you like and support.
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Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkView All Ideasabout 1 year ago
Climate crisis
Hi, I'm a college student studying Biology and I'm a longterm resident of State College. I think our community should take action to reduce our carbon footprint. To reduce the worst impacts of the climate crisis we need to reduce our emissions by 15% a year. As we have seen recently in Australia, reducing our carbon output is essential to our future.
7 months ago
Turn Allen Street into an outdoor dining pavilion
What I envision: Close off the two blocks of Allen St between College and Beaver and make it an entirely pedestrian mall. Set up the entire street with outdoor seating and patio umbrellas at responsibly spaced distances. Have the borough allow people to reserve a table for a specific time and duration so the area is controlled and not overcrowded. Maybe charge a nominal reservation fee—either flat or per 30 minutes—that goes towards a fund helping local businesses instead of lining the pockets of Grub Hub or Uber Eats corporate. Number the tables so that each business knows which table is there for them and can properly direct their servers. Allow bars and restaurants to boost their Covid-era business while giving the community a better opportunity to support the local economy and enjoy summer outdoor dining a little more safely and responsibly! And, if we wanted to get crazy, close down all the streets that normally would for Arts Fest anyway since it is going virtual this year and call that week "Rest[aurant] Fest" instead! Thanks for listening :)
over 1 year ago
University Drive Reroute for Improved Safety, Traffic Flow, and a Better Connected Community
University Drive between Atherton Street and Easterly Parkway is an important conduit in our community. However, its steep inclines and relatively sharp turns create safety hazards that are a concern to residents of the area and drivers alike. I lived at the corner of Legion Lane and University Drive back in 2012 and remember watching a car driven by an elderly driver skid off of the road and narrowly miss a telephone pole as it came down the hill and around a turn. Fortunately the driver was ok, but things could have easily been a lot worse. This stretch of University Drive also bisects the Nittany Hills East and State College South neighborhoods, creating a dangerous barrier between two quiet neighborhoods that would otherwise be well connected. These factors got me wondering if there might be a better way to provide this important traffic route to the community while avoiding these issues. I've attached a very rough drawing of what I believe would be a much safer route for University Drive that would go around these communities and would have the added benefit of eliminating the rush hour traffic nightmare that exists on Atherton Street between Branch Road and University Drive as drivers enter Atherton Street to transfer between University and Branch. This idea would reroute the University Drive Extension to intersect Atherton Street at the current Branch Road intersection and would then follow the current path of Branch Road before turning uphill through the Centre Hills Country Club Property, through Lederer Park, and then onward to connect with the current University Drive at the Easterly Parkway intersection(shown in red). A new intersection providing access to Branch Road(shown in yellow) would be located within the current Centre Hills Country Club property and would also provide access to Sandpiper Drive. Some private property would need to be acquired to make this a reality, but it's not much considering the length of the road. As for the current University Drive route(shown in green), this could be made into a more neighborhood-friendly local access road and have its Atherton Street connection moved further north along Atherton to prevent the road being used as a shortcut and to better disperse traffic along Atherton. Clearly this a relatively far-fetched idea and would have many hurdles in order to be a made into a reality, but given the potential to save lives and to improve traffic and connectivity in our community, I believe this is an idea worth exploring.
almost 2 years ago
PSU Discounts Downtown
It would be great to see more PSU staff discounts at local businesses, movie theaters, etc. downtown!
10 months ago
Protect our health care workers, citizens, and businesses.
Covid-19 is on the rise, and the decline that has been experienced by other countries takes months to occur. Cancel the Allen Street closure and Arts Fest and start focusing on bringing regular business back to the downtown after the risk has been eliminated. Save lives, then save businesses.
Who's listening
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Communications Specialist
