Penn State officials and the Centre Area Transportation Authority have joined forces and begun preliminary talks aimed to significantly restrict on-campus access for automobiles in the future.

Gordon Turow, Penn State's director of planning and design, unveiled the Intermodal Transportation Study before the CATA board of directors during its meeting Monday afternoon.

The plan is believed to be the first of several steps the university will take -- in conjunction with CATA -- to transform Penn State into a more pedestrian-oriented campus, said Eric Bernier, CATA director of service development.

An increase in people utilizing the Loop and Link buses to navigate through the core of campus and a marked decrease in car traffic is expected, he added.

At the meeting, board members were asked by Turow to consider the proposal and to then relay input back to the university within the coming weeks.

"We are sharing the draft of the plan with various groups, including CATA, and we're looking for their input," said Paul Ruskin, spokesman for the Office of Physical Plant.

Once the input has been gathered and considered, the university will be coming up with a solid final plan, Ruskin said.

One of the proposed changes was to close the stretch of Shortlidge Road between Eisenhower Auditorium and Ritenour to both automobile and mass transit traffic, Bernier said. Also, the university would begin construction on a set of parking lots that would run along the perimeter of the campus.

Ruskin declined further comment on the matter.

Bernier said the proposal was generally well received by CATA board members because it was based on solid principles, not "pie-in-the-sky stuff."

"We commend the university for doing this study and recognizing the need to discourage automobile traffic moving through campus," he said.

Bernier said the board is "sensitive" to the reduction of on-campus parking that would result from the proposed implementations. The possibility of new, low cost off-campus parking particularly worries the board because it may lead to potential riders driving their cars instead, taking away business from the company, he said.

"It's simply human nature," he added.

The problems CATA has with the plans are few and far between though, Bernier said.

"We fully support the idea of the plan," he said. "We just want to make sure the strategies will work together to encourage transit."

"The only problem for the university may be selling it (to the public)," Bernier added.

However, Beenu Puri (senior-international politics) was not among those who required the hard sell.

"I'm in favor of it," she said. "The main reason we are here is to get to class, not dodge cars."

Brian Morrison (freshman-communications) said the work taking place around Pollock Road was necessary for pedestrian safety. He was unsure, though, how to react to the newest set of plans.

"From a pedestrian standpoint, the idea is appealing. But if I were a motorist, I wouldn't like it at all," he said. "I think that we need to strike a balance."