‘Very serious safety issue.’ Ferguson Township to conduct parking study near student housing project
A parking study will be conducted on North Butz Street in Ferguson Township after residents expressed concern about future overflow parking onto the street from a new student housing project.
David Modricker, director of public works for the township, said township staff met with residents who live on North Butz Street. They’re concerned about overflow parking from the recently approved student housing complex on West College Avenue, which is under construction.
Resident Rhonda Stern called it a “very serious safety issue” for the neighborhood. She said while they’ve always had some student parking in the two-hour parking spots, allowing cars to park along both sides of the street poses danger.
“When cars are coming out of the one way on College Avenue from downtown, they tend to pick up speed as soon as they get to Buckhout Street. They’re not supposed to but they do and cars go quite fast there,” Stern said.
She said currently there is parking allowed up to West College Avenue. Drivers would have to stop and make a 90-degree right angle onto North Butz, but because of how fast cars are going, it’s not safe to stop there, she said.
“So when you make the right onto North Butz, you have to swing around. And when you swing around if there was a car parked on both sides ... and if there was a car coming down the other direction, it couldn’t happen,” Stern said. “It’s been tolerable but our concern is that once the students are living in the apartment buildings and looking for places to park, they are going to take advantage of both sides of the road. And so that’s the safety issue for us.”
She said they’d like to see less parking on the street, with no parking on the east side and if there has to be two hour parking, she recommended that on the other side.
Supervisor Hilary Caldwell made the motion to direct the township engineer to conduct a parking study for North Butz Street and provide a recommendation to the supervisors for consideration. Supervisor Lisa Strickland seconded; supervisors Caldwell, Strickland, Laura Dininni, Tierra Williams and Patricia Stephens voted in favor.
Modricker said the study should be straightforward; what could take more time is restrictions that the engineer would recommend that would also be acceptable to the neighborhood. When it comes to a public hearing for a resolution, they might hear from others who feel differently.
“But in this case ... if the sentiments that are expressed are generally how the neighborhood overall feels, you know, then it’ll probably be a rather easier process,” he said.
The student housing complex was unanimously approved in June for the intersection of West College Avenue and Buckhout Street. The final land development plan for this Aspen Heights student housing complex proposed a six-story, multi-family 96 unit residential apartment building, with retail and commercial space on the first floor. The building will also include two subsurface floors of parking. Most of the 165 parking spaces on site will be located within the parking structure, though six will be exterior.
It is one of two Aspen Heights projects in Centre County. The other is located in College Township at the site of the former Hilltop Mobile Home Park, which was approved in May.
