A new regulation aims to address pedestrian safety and traffic congestion in downtown State College.

State College Borough Council recently passed an ordinance, effective Aug. 1, to create a lane for loading and unloading in front of downtown businesses, said Mark Whitfield, director of public works. The ordinance also bans the unloading of vehicles in traffic lanes, Whitfield said.

The ordinance will mainly affect the block of Beaver Avenue between Fraser and Allen Streets, where two traffic lanes with a delivery lane will be created, said Council member Elizabeth Goreham.

A common sight on Beaver Avenue is a delivery truck parked in a traffic lane to unload. The delivery trucks stop traffic and cause tension for people traveling through downtown, said Ed Hoey, assistant manager at Panera Bread, 148 S. Allen St.

"I think it creates a problem with people getting upset with the delivery driver when he's just doing his job," Hoey said. State College Borough officials should try to do something about the delivery dilemma, he said, adding that with traffic congestion already a problem downtown, it would be difficult to make additional space for trucks.

The borough is working on eliminating parking spaces to create such unloading lanes, Whitfield said. Public works is talking to businesses to determine how many parking spaces need to be eliminated for delivery, Whitfield said.

While there is already a concern about limited parking downtown, another concern is traffic congestion. Whitfield said congestion should be dealt with before parking can be improved, he said.

"It's like what comes first -- the chicken or the egg?" Whitfield added.

To attract residents to the downtown district, the borough must make streets more traffic-friendly, Whitfield said. Parking is not as big a problem, and will be improved by the addition of parking lots downtown, he said.

"Spaces lost will be minimal, but [the lack of congestion] will create less stress for people coming downtown," he added.

Without the lane, trucks park in traffic lanes, and "within five minutes, you have a traffic jam," Goreham said.

The borough plans to be very strict in the enforcement of the new ordinance, but members also want to accommodate businesses, she added. The ordinance will allow traffic to move more smoothly and allow easy access to businesses, she said.

"We can't tolerate trucks parking anywhere they want in traffic," Goreham said.

There is a concern about the parking spaces that will be lost with the establishment of a delivery lane, but there were no objections to the proposed ordinance during council meetings and public hearings that preceded the ruling, she said.

"Everyone has to give a little, but we hope everyone will benefit," Goreham added. "Our town is experiencing the problems of growth, which are enviable in some ways."