Store owners in downtown State College have been haunted by major road repairs since the end of the Arts Festival but should see a bit of relief as Penn State students move back to town this weekend.
Beaver Avenue has been down to a single lane for most of the post-festival summer, causing major traffic on the road and little traffic through its businesses. Though both lanes will be open Friday through Sunday, one will be closed again for about a week starting Monday.
Carol Yontosh, owner of the Penn State Sub Shop on 225 E. Beaver Ave., called the whole ordeal “a nightmare.”
She said a large portion of her customers are pedestrians who no longer walk down the Beaver Avenue sidewalks. Even those who do brave the booming noises and heavy equipment are unlikely to stop and look around for something to eat in the area.
“It’s not worth it,” she said. “People don’t want to crawl over (the construction).”
Just as bad is her unloading routine, she said.
There’s no space in front of the store to unload anymore, so Yontosh goes to the back. Since she cannot park her truck there, she unpacks it and has to ask a neighbor to keep an eye on things while she parks down the street.
Yontosh is still in her first year of owning the Sub Shop and said if she’s still the owner when this happens again, she’ll be speaking her mind to the borough.
Jody Alessandrine, executive director of the Downtown Improvement District, said he hopes that won’t be necessary.
If the improvements to Beaver Avenue hold, the road should last for another 25 or 30 years, he said.
The same goes for the projects conducted this week by the borough, including curb replacements along College Avenue, at Garner Street and Pugh Street.
If it seems like an awful lot of work is going on downtown, that’s because there is, Alessandrine said.
State College has only 12 weeks to do most of its improvements, one of which is the Arts Festival. The fall is ideal, but it would be impossible to work around the football schedule.
Since there is a limited amount of time for work, borough projects tend to include several contractors working on the same site at the same time. This makes it harder to schedule construction dates, but it cuts down drastically on the number of projects.
“Everybody’s talking to everybody, and the projects are concurrent,” Alessandrine said.
Even so, he understands the concerns of downtown business owners.
“You always wish things would happen sooner,” a feeling he holds as well.
He plans to meet with state representatives soon to push for increased funds in the future, which would allow for more evening and weekend work.
Chris Stotish, who is overseeing the Beaver Avenue project for PennDOT, said this generally costs 10 to 15 percent more than daytime labor.
But some students said the extra cost is reasonable if it means getting the project done while they’re gone. It’s not selfish; they see the businesses suffering.
Colleen McTear, a senior majoring in biology and psychology, has been here all summer and has not stopped by Coldstone Creamery, her local favorite, because of the construction at its doorstep.
A tour of downtown didn’t stop anywhere that was affected by the projects, said freshman Rayah Algheithy, a management information systems major.
And junior Mackenzie Cavanaugh, who moved in her Allen Street apartment yesterday, said she’s trying to steer clear of downtown. Even when the traffic lets up this weekend, the influx of students will keep the economics major south of Beaver Avenue.
“It’s just too crazy downtown,” she said.
In addition to fully opening Beaver Avenue this weekend, the borough has also lifted the ban on parking between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. until 2 a.m. Sunday. There are also no one-hour or two-hour restrictions at noon Thursday and Friday.
Terry Casey is the managing editor of StateCollege.com. He can be reached at 814-238-6201 ext. 135 or at terry.casey@statecollege.com.
