Strong Towns Happy Valley Blog

  Written by Ethan Dean The Penn State Transportation Services Office, located in Eisenhower Parking Deck. Photo from Penn State Transportation Services. College campuses are some of the most urbanized places in the country, with ample housing where students live and buildings located right near food and downtowns. However, they still suffer from many of the same problems that America has with its transit, if to a lesser extent. In this post, we will briefly look at the structure of transportation design on campuses using our own Penn State as an example. Penn State has a few different groups involved in transportation, but much of the general day-to-day transit is operated and run by the Office of the Physical Plant. This group manages roads, lights, and the broad infrastructure and layout of the university. They even have a master plan and other reports on the state of their infrastructure. I would recommend checking out this page to see who works here, what the projects are, an...

Written by Anne Johnson   An approximately 100 yard gap in the sidewalk along Toftrees Avenue in Patton Township. If you look closely, you can see the sidewalk start again just beyond the mailbox. Fall is one of my favorite times of year to walk, with the temperature perfectly cool, the new colors of the leaves, and a sense of the world changing around me. Thus, when I needed a quick break this weekend, I decided to go for a stroll and enjoy some of the last nice weather of the year. As I was walking along Toftrees Avenue in Patton Township, I came to an area where the sidewalk abruptly ended, and then picked up again perhaps 100 yards ahead. This seemed quite odd to me, so I decided to find out why. Turns out that in Patton Township, as in the Borough of State College, College Township, Ferguson Township, and many other places throughout the United States, the maintenance and construction of sidewalks is the responsibility of the owner of the property beside the sidewalk. While Pa...

  Written by Ethan Dean Figure 1: This figure shows the zoning boundaries of State college borough currently. The only area for mixed use is situated right up against the university. This area is a few square miles Zoning plays a pivotal role in shaping the urban fabric of our communities and is often underestimated in its influence. Zoning has the power to change streets into a row of houses, a dense network with cafes, erect high-rises, or maintain lawn and parking lots. In the State College Area, zoning complexities are of particular interest due to the multiple municipal boundaries. Within our borough, Figure 1 depicts a significant zoning rule: it is ILLEGAL to build anything but single-family housing units on 10000 sqft parcels within residential zoned areas (this is all the orange to yellow on the map). While these regulations may seem protective, they result in extremely low-density areas that are expensive to maintain and contribute to unused space within our community....

  Written by Evan Ferstl Some STHV Members learning about the Next Generation Connectivity and Mobility Plan at a Community Engagement Session at the Allen Street Gates, State College's frequent downtown gathering space for protests and events. Photo from Kittelson & Associates, Inc. In my opinion, one of the less talked about aspects of good urban design is its role in facilitating a healthy democracy. This is particularly the case with public squares, which have long been sites of some of the most dramatic protests in cities across the world. These are places that, in a well designed city, are at the center of public activity. They are accessible to many and good spots to gather by foot for any occasion. Here’s an example from our country. During the summer of 2020, there was much to protest about. Even though people were still wary of public gatherings due to COVID, Americans still overwhelmingly gathered by foot, not in car caravans, and they chose their spots carefull...

  Written by Valerie Burnett On this past cool and blustery Saturday people of all ages and abilities gathered at Sunset Park for the Fall Foliage Bike Ride & Festival .  Discussions about the Next Gen Connectivity & Mobility Plan prompted many to express high hopes for all who walk, bicycle, and take the bus in our region.  As riders approached the intersection of McKee Street and Park Avenue it triggered conversations about how it is necessary to put a toe or tire out into the road to show drivers their intention to cross.  Without being assertive it can be a very long wait.  One person commented that even though people have the right of way it is not worth being “dead right.”  Another mentioned that a reasonably inexpensive solution might be retractable bollards.  We traveled through campus working our way to the Blue Course Drive multi-use path with the support of members from the State College Borough Bicycle Ambassadors and CentreBi...