Gordon Rawlins once told the State College Borough Council it had a problem.

Borough streets and parking lots have filled so quickly, the former Parking Authority chairman noted eight months ago, that it is no longer possible even to tell where the greatest parking demand exists.

New parking spaces need to be created fast before the borough is entirely saturated with cars, Rawlins told the council.

For years in this small ambience-obsessed community, committees, commissions, councils and caucuses have been putting their heads together to control parking demand and supply. Almost all have heard Rawlin's warning.

But so far, none have met with landmark success.

Borough Planning Director Carl Hess said a good part of the borough's overcrowding results from the overflow from residential buildings that supply little or no parking for tenants.

Most of these buildings were constructed between 1978 and 1986 when developers were not required to supply parking for a building's employees or residents, he said.

Although parking construction requirements existed before 1978, the council lifted them because they feared the law would create too many small parking lots accessing major borough roads, Hess said.

At the time, the council believed parking should be a borough responsibility. However, because of a lack of funds, the borough was unable to create the spaces it felt responsible to supply, he said.

"We weren't providing parking quickly enough from a municipal standpoint to keep up with demand," Hess said.

Hess said among the buildings constructed within the eight-year window are Hetzel and Beaver Plaza, the University Gateway buildings, Alexander Court and O'Brien Place.

A 1985 study of the borough's parking system by Cambridge SystematicsInc., found 85 percent of the borough's off-street parking spaces, which include two parking garages and three metered lots, were filled during business hours.

Parking Assistant Ed Holmes said the percentage has swelled higher and today several of the borough's parking facilities regularly reach capacity. When garages, lots and street meters are included in the tally, the borough can accommodate about 1,400 cars.

Many borough officials say the multi-faceted parking problem can be solved best through the cooperative efforts of public and private organizations. But communication, they say, has been lacking.