PennDOT is considering reducing the number of travel lanes as a safety and traffic calming measure on one section of South Atherton Street as it plans for the next phase of improvements to the State College thoroughfare, project representatives told Borough Council on Monday night.
The overall project, which is tentatively expected to begin in 2028, would be mostly similar to previous phases of Atherton Street work over the past decade, with roadway and drainage improvements and utility replacements, this time between the Westerly Parkway and University Drive intersections, and a separate project for intersection improvements at Branch Road also folded into the work.
But after a study conducted over the last year, the department is also looking at implementing a concept known as a road diet between the Westerly Parkway and Allen Street/Waupelani Drive intersections, Lou Spaciano of lead project engineer Verdantas and PennDOT Engineering District 2 project manager Jared Lapczynski said in a presentation to council.
The road diet would create a three-lane road by reducing the number of travel lanes from two to one in each direction and using the remaining width to create a center turn lane and a shared-use path. The plan would have one 11-foot-wide travel lane in each direction and a 14-foot center lane. The specific siting of the shared-use pedestrian and bike path is to be determined, but Spaciano said the goal is to have it stretch through the entire project zone, not just the road diet area.
“The key improvements here are safety, operations, access and quality of life,” Spaciano said.
Configuring the road to three lanes would reduce the number of vehicle conflict points and severity of rear and side-angle collisions, he said. It would also separate left turns from through traffic, improve side street traffic crossing and reduce speed differentials.
“We have less vehicles turning, stopping traffic, so we keep that speed differential more consistent,” Spaciano said.
Lane reduction additionally would result in improved access for main and side street residences, and would be a traffic calming measure that improves comfort level through pedestrian improvements, bike lanes and reduced speed differential, he said.
The study looked at the entire project area for a potential road diet but found only the Westerly to Allen/Waupelani corridor was suitable, primarily because of traffic volumes and proximity to residences instead of businesses.
Traffic counts found that the average daily traffic in that section is about 7,700 vehicles. East of Allen/Waupelani, however, volume rises to about 11,000 near Pugh Street, 15,000 near East Whitehall Road and 25,000 around University Drive.
For the Westerly to Allen/Waupelani section, the traffic delay increase would be less than 10 seconds and there would be no significant increase in queue lengths, the study found. With higher traffic volume to the east, those delays would increase and queue length could exceed capacity, Spaciano said.
He added that in the residential area there is lower volume of turning traffic than in the more commercial area to the east, and the dedicated turn lane already in place accommodates the center lane turning at the intersections.
“We’re recommending the implementation of the road diet between Westerly and Allen Street, and then transitioning back to the existing lane configuration east of the Allen Street intersection, out to University Drive,” Spaciano said. “From the feasibility perspective, we’re able to utilize the existing roadway section, so minimal widening, really just curb replacement within the residential area. This allows for safe egress for the driveways along this area. The left turn phasing, we’re able to utilize the exclusive left turn lane at the Westerly Parkway and Allen Street intersections.”
The study also found a traffic signal at the Pugh Street intersection was not warranted, though in response to a question from council member Matt Herndon, Spaciano said planning for the project will include potential safety improvements in that area.
Support and Skepticism
While some council members like Herndon embraced the road diet concept, others were skeptical, raising concerns similar to those voiced when PennDOT presented initial plans for the project prior to the study in early 2024.
Although Spaciano said the road diet would not result in greater traffic congestion, council members Evan Myers, Kevin Kassab and Josh Portney each said they worried drivers would encounter backups and would attempt to use neighborhood side streets to avoid them. Spaciano said PennDOT did not study trips diverted outside the area of the road diet.
“I think it would be helpful to understand that, how many cars might peel off and start driving into the neighborhoods,” Myers said. “Even if it’s a small number, in a neighborhood a small number can seem like a lot.”
Herndon, who lives near the area of the planned project, said he wasn’t as concerned about diverted traffic.
“Given the street layouts and my understanding of them, I really doubt that anyone would cut through it more than once,” Herndon said. “…It would be a thing you’d do once and then regret your choices for the future.”
Myers also inquired whether PennDOT conducts follow-up studies after a road diet has been implemented. Lapczynski said that while PennDOT has implemented road diets elsewhere, District 2 has not done one, but said that they could perform a follow-up. He added that there is voluminous literature from federal and state transportation offices studying the before-and-after effects of road diets, many of which have been successful.
Asked what they would do if they found the road diet was not working, Lapczynski said “we would have to do a little more investigation and follow-up.”
“I’m concerned there’s a lot of unanswered questions,” Myers said. “I’m not saying I’m in favor or opposed to this, but you don’t have answers to the questions I ask.”
In response to a question from Portney, Spaciano said he was unsure if PennDOT data used in the study incorporated the 540-bed student housing complex planned nearby on a portion of the Westerly Parkway Plaza and along Waupelani Drive. Portney also urged PennDOT to involve the Centre Area Transportation Authority, which Spaciano said would occur as the project planning progresses.
Several council members also raised concerns that the study did not account for the borough’s pending zoning overhaul, which could result in higher population density and more traffic heading toward downtown in the long-term. Spaciano said it “would be very helpful to see” the draft of the new zoning, which council expects to tentatively adopt on Oct. 22 before final approval next spring.
Council member Nalini Krishnankutty said she appreciates the study, “but I want it done right,” including accounting for a potentially “big impact” from the zoning changes.
Gopal Balachandran said he is in favor of the concept of a road diet, and both Herndon and John Hayes said they not only support it but would like to see it extended further through the project area.
“The one thing I’m disappointed in is that this diet isn’t going to extend up to University [Drive] because that’s really where i see the biggest problem with left turns, with those two lanes of traffic, people turning left into the neighborhood, people turning left into the shopping center,” Herndon said. “It just creates this moment where you’re in the left lane to go fast and then, oh, in front of you is someone in the left lane stops to turn left. That’s where you have either crashes or near crashes, and living there I see it all the time. So I would like it to go further back. I can understand if maybe there’s data that says it absolutely shouldn’t, but that’s something I was hoping to see here.”
Hayes added that he believes the topography of the road and transition for westbound traffic warrants extending the road diet to around the Pugh Street intersection.
Spaciano said the engineering team will look at “if there’s any way to extend it, just to make sure that we did our due diligence and find the best spot” to go from a three-lane section to the existing layout.
What Else Is Planned
In addition to the potential road diet, the project will include pavement mill and overlay, full depth base replacement at select locations, curb and gutter replacements and lane width improvements to meet current standards.
Pavement cross slope corrections will be designed to ensure stormwater runoff flows into the gutter.
Other plans include ADA improvements at intersections, pipe and inlet replacements, traffic signal replacements at the Allen Street and University Drive intersections and coordinating with utility companies on needed infrastructure replacement to occur at the same time.
What’s Next
The project is currently in the preliminary engineering phase. Spaciano said the project team would provide another update to council and will hold a public meeting with a plan display, likely in the spring of 2026.
The road diet is not a certainty, Spaciano said, and PennDOT presented the concept to council “because they want to be good neighbors” and receive input early in the process.
“I appreciate that… it’s not a done deal so can you come back in and have those conversations with those stakeholders and come back to us before you let out bids,” Portney said.
Final design will take place from spring 2026 to approximately late summer 2027, with bids let in August of that year. Construction is tentatively slated to take place over the course of two construction seasons, from the spring of 2028 through the summer of 2029.
