When Gov. Ed Rendell approved a state budget that included a $1.7 million transportation revitalization plan, many wondered where the money would come from.

As legislators continue to squabble over potential sources of funding, such as tolling Interstate 80 and leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is bracing to be stretched to its limit.

With many structurally deficient bridges and public transit systems desperately in need of funding, smaller community projects risk finding themselves on the back burner for years, maybe even decades.

Given this, it seems like the perfect plan for PennDOT to begin its "turnback" program with several roads in State College, including College and Beaver avenues.

The program lets PennDOT turn over control and responsibility of certain roads to smaller municipalities.

But far more important than the compensation the state would give State College, the borough would have the newfound ability to maintain and modify its roads whenever it wants to.

Instead of appealing to the already overtaxed PennDOT, State College would be able to monitor its own roads' needs and use funding from its local taxpayers to address them.

One of the most student-centered plans the borough would consider involves narrowing Beaver Avenue to include a bike lane.

While on-street parking might have to be reduced and the risk of sideswiping could increase, such a plan would greatly improve the safety of State College's many cyclists.

Even before Penn State professor Bohdan Kulakowski was hit and killed while riding along Boalsburg Road in 2006, local groups like Penn State's cycling club have lobbied to improve cyclist safety on local roads.

Penn State's bike-friendly campus is one thing, but the crowded downtown streets of State College are a hazard for the many students who ride their bicycles.

The safety of students should be paramount in a town where we make up the majority of the population.

Besides, in an increasingly green world, it makes sense to implement ways to make bicycles a safer and more viable transportation option.

Though the roads would likely not change hands until 2010, local officials should start planning now to make sure the borough is just as friendly to four wheels as it is to two.