Free parking at the Arboretum at Penn State coming to an end, starting Monday
Visitors accustomed to free parking at The Arboretum at Penn State are in for some disappointment starting Monday.
With nearby construction of the new Palmer Museum of Art, those looking to park at the popular scenic gardens will soon need to park across the street at the Katz Building lot — which requires payment of $1 per hour or a Penn State parking permit valid in Orange lots. Depending when visitors arrive, parking time will also be limited: When classes are in session in the spring and fall, parking is capped at two hours.
The usual Arboretum parking lot, one of the last places on campus to offer free parking, is being removed as part of the museum construction.
The university previously made known its plans to move Arboretum parking to the Katz lot, but it specifically spelled out the requirement to pay in a news release Tuesday.
According to the university, that requirement will be in place at all times, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. All University Park parking permits will be valid in the Katz lot on weekdays after 4 p.m. and on weekends (not including football game days). For those without permits, all-day parking will be available on the weekends for $8 and, when class isn’t in session, the length of stay can extend beyond two hours.
Visitors can either use a pay station in the lot or pay via the ParkMobile app.
Two ADA-accessible parking spaces will remain near the Arboretum’s Overlook Pavilion and can be reached via the service road. There will also be temporary ADA-accessible walkways around the perimeter of the construction site to provide access to the gardens.
Construction of the new $85 million Palmer Museum of Art was approved in May by the board of trustees, though not without some controversy. It is expected to open by fall 2023.
The 71,000-square-foot facility will house between 7% and 8% of the university’s 10,260-piece art collection, doubling the current facility’s 3-4%. According to officials, who cited surveys and studies, the new museum is expected to nearly triple annual attendance from 35,000 to 95,000 while creating more job opportunities and more visiting opportunities for K-12 students.
Penn State has previously said it views the new museum as part of a “cultural gateway,” a first step in creating a hub that could one day include a planetarium, conservatory and performance space. Officials told the State College borough planning commission in March that a space was already reserved south of the new museum’s location, where an interdisciplinary STEM museum could also be constructed.
