Monday, March 31, 1997
Borough Council to hold public hearing about traffic diverters
The last time the State College Borough Council put the issue of the College Heights traffic diverters on their agenda, not even the residents of that neighborhood were allowed to have their say about the barriers on their streets.
But today is their chance to speak. A public hearing will be held
at 7:30 p.m. in the council room on the second floor of the Municipal
Building, 118 S. Fraser St.
The diverters were placed in residential areas north of campus
last June in an attempt to alleviate traffic and noise problems.
They were also placed to direct traffic to Atherton Street instead
of the "shortcut" many used to get from Atherton Street
to Park Avenue to avoid the traffic light.
Many residents attended a borough council work session in February
to ask questions about the results of the surveys.
And while the residents were not allowed to voice their opinions,
questions were filled with emotion.
"There's such emphatic, almost emotional, disagreement among
the people about whether the diverters are serving a good purpose
or are disruptive," council member Jean McManis said.
No vote will be taken tonight and no decisions will be made.
"We could meet again. We're not going to close the doors
at a given moment," McManis said. "We're going to commit
ourselves to listen. If it takes more than one meeting, so be
it."
-- by Brooke Sample
