The State College Borough Council and some student groups have been making strides to add lighting in town, but no dates have been set for the completion of the project.
Council President Tom Daubert said the project regarding additional lighting will continue to move ahead in the Highlands neighborhood despite recent inactivity after placing lights along Calder Way.
The borough does not provide funding for lights on private property, and that it can only place lights on already existing poles or on publicly owned property.
"These are the kinds of things that we have money in the budget for. It doesn't cost very much if the pole is there," Daubert said.
One of the problems, after planning the lighting, is getting the electrical companies to install new lighting quickly.
Sidewalks in front of fraternities such as Acacia, 234 Locust Lane, and Sigma Alpha Mu, 329 E. Prospect Ave., are public areas that may be slated for additional lighting.
Chris Babic, Off-Campus Student Union vice president, said he is pleased that progress is being made on downtown lighting.
He said he anticipates working as a facilitator between the borough and students in an effort to provide a safer community.
The Off-Campus Student Union has proposed that the Interfraternity Council pay for additional lighting on their privately owned property downtown.
He has also asked that they investigate the areas surrounding their fraternity houses to see where additional lighting may be placed on utility poles publicly.
These two efforts alone would double the amount of lighting in off-campus areas, Babic said.
He added that the student union's latest efforts will complement the Interfraternity Council's initiative to provide a safe space for female students, recently dubbed the "Rape-Free Zone."
Council member Jeffrey Kern said efforts to improve lighting would "behoove us as a community."
"If they have ideas that we can facilitate, we'd be crazy not to do it," Kern added.
The Off-Campus Student Union will present plans with Undergraduate Student Government at a Borough Council meeting on March 1 to further escalate additional lighting throughout the community.
