The results of a recent borough-wide traffic count, which was conducted in the spring and fall of 2003, might spur the State College Borough Council to address local concerns regarding traffic patterns.

Public works director Mark Whitfield said the purpose of the study was to gauge the specific amounts of traffic on State College streets each day in an effort to determine if traffic mitigation procedures are needed in specific areas.

Mitigation can refer to physical implementations, such as speed bumps or medians, to slow down drivers.

The amount of traffic streets could safely sustain was originally based on data from a 1995 Neighborhood Traffic Mitigation Policy, which determined street designations according to the amount of residents who lived on the street, as well as the average number of times they leave their residence per day.

Whitfield said the results of the most recent traffic count show that 33 percent of streets throughout the community exceeded their original traffic designations.

He added that specific breakdowns from the count had not been calculated yet.

Foster and Prospect avenues, for example, are designated "local" streets. Their maximum acceptable Average Daily Traffic (ADT) is 1,000 vehicles per day. In comparison, roads such as Garner Street, designated as "residential collectors," have an ADT of 3,000.

Highlands Civic Association president Bob Seibel said he has seen car accidents around the Highlands area, and is concerned by the amount of traffic on surrounding roadways as well as driver behaviors.

"It's not just the students that are speeding, it's the old codgers and the middle-aged people -- we're all speeding," he said. "And the only way to get control is to forcefully slow them down, and we'll all benefit."

Whitfield said the addition of a "trumpet," used to divert traffic, prohibits drivers from turning left onto University Drive from Foster Avenue in 2001.

"Traffic went from 1,200 [cars] per day to 2,300 when the shift occurred but Prospect Avenue had been classified as a residential collector, which meant it could take 3,000 cars a day," Whitfield said.

He added that some residents might not be aware of the street's current designation.

Council member Elizabeth Goreham said the issue of traffic mitigation is contentious for some residents.

"People who live on McCormick [Avenue] are afraid if we take traffic off of Prospect Avenue, it will go to their street," she said.

Whitfield said that implementing physical structures throughout the community to ease the flow of traffic is a complex process.

"In order to be able to make street closures and the placement of diverters ostensible ... we need to have a policy in place of what are expected traffic levels on particular streets," he said.

"You can't go out and throw diverters up just because you don't want traffic on the street ... a methodology needs to be used."

Some State College Borough Council members said they feel traffic mitigation efforts won't affect the amount of local traffic.

"Depending on where you live and where you travel, someone's going to benefit and someone's not," council member James Meyer said. "The traffic will still be here. They're not going to jump on a bus. They'll still drive their car, just on a different street."

Council member Cathy Dauler said she hopes the traffic count study will spur council to act on behalf of concerned residents.

"I would like to think that once we have that information, we will address the Foster and Prospect Avenues traffic problems," Dauler said.

Dauler said it is sometimes difficult to get community members to agree on the best way to address possible traffic solutions.

"People look at a mitigation proposal, look for where their house is in the neighborhood and ask 'well how am I going to get to the grocery store if you do the following?' " Dauler said.

Results from the traffic count will be discussed at next month's Transportation Commission meeting.

Collegian Staff writer Kathleen Haughney contributed to this report.