Inside/Outside State College is a regular column by Jeff Deitrich offering views on downtown and the outdoors within a 30-minute driving distance.
Give the people what they want. And what they want in downtown State College, I am not surprised to say, is more and better dining options!
That’s according to an admittedly unscientific survey that I conducted recently in which I asked scores of people what they wanted most and liked least about downtown.
Sometimes I’ve wondered whether I’ve been off-base in thinking some of what I think about downtown. This exercise convinced me that a lot of others feel similarly.
Most of these were person-on-the-street surveys in which I asked only two questions: What would you like to see downtown? And: What do you like least about downtown? I received 90 responses (so there is at least some statistical validity).
What people want is a bit different from what they like least. I’ll get into some of those things later, but the clear trend among students and adults alike was that we want more dining options. Adults were adamant that they want more sit-down restaurants, some that take reservations, and some with outdoor seating—although no adults wanted more fast food.
That, of course, differed from the students I asked, who ached to have McD’s and Taco Bell downtown again, along with Chick-fil-A and another Buffalo Wild Wings-like place.
Of note, not a single person came close to saying that we need another vape shop, tattoo parlor, chicken finger eatery, pizza joint or PSU clothing store. And the only person who said we need another bar specifically wanted an “upscale” bar, like the Adam’s Apple or Allen Street Grill. I could not possibly agree more with all of those sentiments.
A couple of the more notable comments on the topic included one alumnus who said, “Really, you can’t find a replacement for Spats?” He couldn’t believe it’s taking so long for its replacement to open when I told him it is supposedly coming. Another said, “Enough is enough already with the chicken fingers!” Food certainly is one thing people are passionate about.
Respondents also said they want more late-night dining options, especially when they’re out with their kids, and more places with outdoor seating. While we are building so many high rises, I suggest that the least we could do is provide some additional options. Thank you to Maxxen, for example, for doing that with BW3.
So, more and better dining, more late-night options and more outdoor seating for dining made up about 45% of all of my responses. Nothing else made it past 12%. Here’s to better restaurants serving State College’s signature grilled stickies!
The next item that made it to about 12% was more retail stores with personality/less boarded up shops. The boarded up shops was particularly aggravating to people.
The only other thing noted multiple times was the idea of a pedestrian mall in town. I think that’s a great idea. But please, I’ll beg anyone who will listen, as someone who used to live on South Allen, please don’t do it on Allen Street! Traffic is the worst from there to the intersection with Atherton to its intersection with Beaver. That will be a daily nightmare if Allen Street is permanently closed while the two streets between it and Atherton remain one way. Build a pedestrian mall elsewhere – perhaps Calder Way (which already has a project underway to become more pedestrian-friendly in the future) or eventually Calder and McAllister Alley by The Tavern.
People were less thoughtful and enthusiastic about what they liked least. The visible reason seemed to be because most people really like downtown State College, as I do.
Of the top four things people disliked, number one was downtown’s high rises. As a student said to me, “The high rises hinder views of campus and negatively contribute to the college town feel of downtown.” Another said it more simply: “The high rises look like shit.” Not one person suggested that the high rises were liked in any way, shape or form. But they’re here to stay, I’m sorry to say. Let’s hope we do them better.
Also on the list was the lack of good restaurants, specifically sit-down seafood and Italian places, which, of course, mirrors what we want to see. Then, of the most cited complaints people mentioned – especially non-residents – is that parking was their least favorite thing (though it was rarely mentioned as something people want).
As a resident, I have very little trouble parking downtown, so I don’t fully understand this one. Maybe it’s just parking during big weekends since it was the out-of-towners who complained, or maybe people just don’t like to walk more than two blocks to their destinations, but I rarely have to walk much more than that when I go downtown. Perhaps next month we’ll take a deep dive into parking downtown to see what is going on.
Another curiosity is how many people said their least favorite thing is students. Sure, some of them can be “rude, loud, drunk and stupid” as one respondent said (and as I surely was on occasion as a student). However, they can also pull together and raise more than $18 million for kids with cancer. They are the vitality—the raison d’etre—of State College. Try embracing them instead of complaining about them. It’s foolish to do so in a college town. They’re not going anywhere.
The only thing I don’t like about having so many students in town is that the developers have decided to cater almost solely to students, hence the prevalence of vape shops, chicken fingers, etc. They leave the other 50,000+ residents and tens of thousands of adult visitors to go elsewhere for better dining, diverse shopping and non-bar activities. Shame on them for that.
One final note: I was unsurprised-but-still-disturbed by the number of unapproachable people I encountered on the street. I’ve seen for years that the proliferation of headphones, earbuds and cell phones make it far harder simply to speak to someone than it was when I was younger. I don’t like it.
Further, the number of standoffish and even rude people was disturbing. I don’t mind being turned down when I smilingly ask someone to answer two questions about downtown, but there was a notable lack of friendliness. Smile, people! Say hello. Help make our downtown a happier and more welcoming place.
Thank you!
PS: For inspiration, here is the list of other items people said they would like to see downtown that received only one or two mentions:
- Less vape shops
- Murals on buildings/Hire some artists
- Clean up the alleys
- More activities
- More types of people
- A jazz lounge
- More community events like Arts Fest
- Places for young professionals
- More trees
- Roller skating rink
- Arcade
- More accessibility
- Big comedy acts monthly
Jeff Deitrich is a retired hotelier and outdoors writer living in State College. He welcomes comments at psumohs@yahoo.com.
