State College considers changes to some parking rates, time limits and enforcement

Parking changes could be coming to State College, including changes to time limits, rates and enforcement, under a proposal Borough Council discussed during their meeting Monday.

The borough’s parking department presented a revised parking ordinance that introduces a series of new parking pilots and creates a clearer legal framework for documenting and enforcing current and future parking pilots —including closing gaps in collecting unpaid garage fees and managing drivers with multiple unpaid tickets. Borough Council also discussed a proposal that would convert portions of four streets to one-way traffic.

Parking revisions are designed to ease financial burdens on neighborhoods, avoid costly meter replacements, improve compliance and revenue collection for both on‑street and garage parking, and better align the ordinance with how parking is actually used and enforced today, Tom Brown, borough parking director said during Monday’s meeting.

Meter time limits, special event rates proposed

In the downtown area, a 60-day pilot program includes changing on‑street meter time limits to a two‑hour maximum before 6 p.m. and a four‑hour maximum after 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, with a five‑hour maximum all day on Saturdays. Metered lots already have a five‑hour time limit and are not changing under this pilot, Brown said.

Parking staff also included codifying digital payment zones in the ordinance by making permanent app-only style digital payment zones that would replace “non-functioning” multi-space meters and free up curb space.

“If we codify the digital payment zones, we can remove that equipment, clean up the curb line, and make it a little bit easier for everyone,” Brown said.

The systems have been “wildly successful” in facilitating parking in the past and have been proven to increase paid sessions and legal parking, he added.

Another pilot program, scheduled to run from August through December, would introduce special event parking rates on select neighborhood streets that experience heavy parking demand during major events like Penn State football games. The initiative is intended to help offset the impacts of event-related parking on residents while generating new General Fund revenue from areas that have traditionally offered free, unrestricted parking.

The program would charge visiting parkers who park for free in these neighborhoods by using digital payment technology license plate recognition for enforcement. That revenue would offset municipal service costs that those events and visitors create in residential areas.

If the program is successful, it could generate up to $350,000 annually, Brown said, though the first-year can be expected to be lower due to startup costs and a public education period. The pilot program would determine any long-term implementation.

“There’s no precedent for this type of project,” Brown said, “but with the new technology, we really feel that we are able to tackle this and effectively manage it.”

The ordinance would also clarify parking rules in Commuter Residential (CR), R, and R1 permit zones by specifying that the two-hour parking cannot be reset by temporarily leaving and returning to the same block. It would also confirm that residents with an R permit may park in any R permit zone, not just near their home.

In addition, council member Susan Venegoni clarified how the borough’s proposed event-rate parking pilot could work alongside the existing $10 annual resident permit program.

“In theory, I could park on the street with my $10 dollar a year resident permit and my guest could park in my driveway,” she said.

Enforcement changes for repeat offenders

There is also an escalation of tickets for misuse of loading zones by personal vehicles in the proposed changes. A new “scofflaw” structure would increase fines from $25 to $50 a ticket for violators that stacked up more than 25 loading-zone tickets in a year.

Brown said the ordinance creates a special exception for the Calder Way loading zone, allowing longer loading periods from the existing five-minute limit with approval from the parking director, a designee, or through an occupancy permit. The change is intended to support construction projects and other activities that require extended amounts of time.

The ordinance would also allow the borough to install a wheel boot on vehicles once a driver has accumulated $200 in unpaid parking fines. Borough officials say improved digital tracking tools make it easier to identify repeat offenders and encourage compliance before violations become a bigger problem.

“The digital age that we’re now in has cut the time down considerably in attaining owner information for outstanding violations,” Brown said.

Council members voiced support of the parking ordinance changes, with a vote expected at the June 15 meeting.

Concerns about one-way pairs proposal

During Monday’s meeting several council members pushed back on a proposal for a one-year trial period that would convert portions of four streets to one-way traffic— the 100 block of Locust Lane and Hiester Street and the 100 block of Sowers Street and Hetzel Street — to add 32 new parking spaces and five additional loading zones downtown.

Council President Evan Myers questioned whether individual businesses along the plan’s path were informed of the proposal, and parking staff said they had only consulted with the Downtown State College Improvement District and the Retail Advisory Committee.

“I am concerned that the businesses in this area have not been consulted other than just from a large sense. I wonder how it might affect them,” Myers said.

He pointed to an example that making Sowers Street one way would cut off the common left-turn route from Beaver into a key parking lot for customers going to surrounding businesses. Customers would be required to loop around or give up, affecting businesses that rely on that parking and access.

Council member Matt Herndon supported the proposal for pedestrian safety but expressed concern about bike safety.

“In general, I support the one‑way roads,” he said. “What I don’t like about this change is it kind of effectively bars bikes from Locust between College and Beaver Avenue.”

Herndon said shifting bikes to ride on College Avenue instead is an unsafe alternative. He suggested that the Locust lane between College and Beaver Avenue can be left both directions.

Myers said the proposal was not ready for a vote during the June 15 meeting and directed staff to do more outreach on affected businesses and conduct more technical refinement, with a revised version for possible action July 6.

Paloma Pimentel

Centre Daily Times