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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View All Ideas12 months 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.
about 1 year ago
More dog friendly patios and events
We had several dog friendly patios downtown, but with the high rises those have gone away. There are only a handful left. Would love to see more dog friendly patios for warm weather or even a dog park downtown. Would be great to see dog vendors come to first Friday events and other community events. I would love to help in any way I can. I was part of a reactivation of a park in downtown Long Beach, CA
about 1 year ago
Movie Theater Downtown
It would be awesome if there was a movie theater downtown for students/locals to go to!
about 1 year ago
Skatepark
It would be great to see the borough look into building a skatepark. Currently there is no where within the borough to skateboard without being addressed by the police. The Bethlehem skate plaza in Bethlehem, PA is a great example where I see local skateboarders picking up garbage and maintaining the park because they are very grateful that the city invested in them. Skateparks today can be designed like “plazas” and integrated into the local landscape in ways that do not distract from the surrounding beauty. The addition of a skatepark to this area will also attract users from outside the immediate area and likely lead to an increase in revenue for local businesses, especially those selling food and drinks.
about 1 year ago
PSU Discounts Downtown
It would be great to see more PSU staff discounts at local businesses, movie theaters, etc. downtown!
