Could this be a solution to avoid Atherton Street congestion?

Traffic on North Atherton Street will continue to be an issue until the construction project is completed in 2019, but there may be a solution to help alleviate congestion at the Park Avenue intersection.

About 21 years ago, several street diverters were put in place to prevent motorists from cutting through State College borough's College Heights neighborhood to get to Penn State's campus. While residents like how the diverters have limited traffic in the area and made it safer for pedestrians, some commuters think it could help traffic to have those roadways reopened.

College Heights is bisected by North Atherton Street, and extends from Park Avenue to Cherry Lane, and from Holmes Street on the east side to Glenn Road on the western portion.

There are three diverters in East College Heights that reroute traffic: North Allen Street-Hillcrest Avenue-Adams Avenue, Burrowes Road-Hillcrest Avenue and East Mitchell Avenue-Thomas Street.

Carla Hass, a College Heights resident, remembers a lot of controversy when the diverters where first suggested in 1996. However, she, along with many of her neighbors, say that they have helped "reclaim the neighborhood" and made it safer.

When Allen Street was still open, Hass said it was like a zoo because drivers would speed through the neighborhood. State College Borough Council member Cathy Dauler said during an April meeting that before the diverters were set up, College Heights was "overwhelmed with over 5,000 cars a day."

The borough did extensive research and surveyed the public before setting up the diverters, borough communications specialist Douglas Shontz said. It wasn't an overnight decision. He said temporary barriers were put in place for about a year until they were made permanent in 1997.

The chances of the diverters being removed are slim, Shontz said.

Karen Peoples, a Patton Township resident, suggested to borough council in September that the diverters be temporarily removed so that traffic congestion at the North Atherton Street-Park Avenue intersection could be alleviated.

"I understand that's somewhat of an inconvenience for that neighborhood, but right now the inconvenience is a lot of people who are coming into town to work," she said.

Council members discussed the matter and decided that removing the diverters would make College Heights unsafe.

"Borough council had the final say when the diverters were put up, and they would have the final say to remove them," Shontz said.

If borough council did decide to take action, it wouldn't be a quick process. Shontz said the public works team would need to analyze the situation and figure out what would need to be done to get the roads "back in running shape for travelers." He said the North Atherton Street construction project would likely be completed before those changes would be made.

The North Atherton Street construction project is headed by the state Department of Transportation, so State College borough doesn’t have control over the contractors or crews.

However, Shontz said the borough is working with PennDOT and Penn State to help disseminate construction updates to residents and motorists, who are encouraged to plan travel accordingly.

"Until construction is complete, that's still going to be a sore spot no matter what you do," Shontz said of the Atherton-Park Avenue intersection.

This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 8:30 AM with the headline "Could this be a solution to avoid Atherton Street congestion?."