Pedestrian mall & no more high-rises: What residents say they want in downtown State College

The Downtown State College Improvement District recently asked for residents and visitors of downtown to share their feedback, ideas for events and ways to foster community downtown.

DSCID is a nonprofit that works to create and promote downtown State College as a welcoming destination for everyone. They develop community events, programs, initiatives, help move forward improvements and more.

The survey, which was open for about a month, gained 609 total responses mostly from people who live and work in State College, and range from ages 18 to 84.

Respondents said things like arts and culture, access, food and drink, businesses and shopping make the downtown State College a “great downtown.” It’s also clean and safe, and has a good atmosphere with a small town feel, respondents said.

Still, there’s room for improvement, which is what the nonprofit is about. Survey respondents said if they could change one thing about downtown, they’d change the infrastructure, parking, businesses and public spaces.

DSCID sponsors several events — Light Up Night, Fall Fest, Happy Valley Latin Festival, Sips & Sounds, Pride, Live After Five and First Friday — and of those, respondents of the survey attended First Friday, Fall Fest and Light Up Night the most. Only 5% of respondents had negative feedback about any of the events.

Other events people would like to see downtown revolved heavily around being outside. People said they want live music and concerts, cultural events, food trucks, outdoor dining and sidewalk sales. Other ideas were a Christmas market, scavenger hunts, events for kids and a car show.

To foster community, respondents said while DSCID does a good job already, they’d like to see empty retail space filled, Allen Street closed, a pedestrian mall, events for families and no more high-rises. Ways to bring students and residents together was another popular response, as well as free event parking and more accessible parking in general. Some said better event advertising could be done.

In a Facebook post, DSCID said this “information is a tool that we utilize throughout the year as we plan for the future and collaborate with our partners.”

For more information or to view the survey results , visit downtownstatecollege.com.