State College Set to Begin Charging for Parking on Residential Streets During Penn State Football Weekends

Visitors accustomed to free parking on streets in State College’s residential neighborhoods during Penn State football weekends are in for a change this season.

The borough will no longer lift the “No Parking 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.” and the the one- and two-hour restrictions restrictions on streets in the Highlands, Holmes-Foster and College Heights neighborhoods as it has traditionally done during football weekends.

Beginning at 2 a.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Sunday, overnight parking in these zones will require a paid parking session through the HONK Mobile app or a valid R permit. Vehicles parked in excess of the one- or two-hour limit must have a valid R1, R or commuter permit or a paid parking session through HONK.

Drivers can pre-pay for a parking session beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday using HONK Zone 4217, which will display the message: “Prepay-Sat Sep 5 -2 a.m. Through Saturday Midnight Only. Payment Required.” Each 24-hour session is $25.

Signage is posted in zones where drivers can pay for special event parking. The pilot program does not allow for parking in areas where no parking has been previously permitted.

For residential permit holders, no additional payment is required.

The payment requirement for non-permit holders is a pilot program approved by Borough Council in July. It will be in effect through the end of 2026 and will be reviewed by council and staff in January to determine whether it should be made permanent.

“This was initially researched and devised as a measure to help ease the financial burden on neighborhoods and generate general fund revenue during periods where historically parking was free without any time restriction,” Parking Director Tom Brown said during a discussion of the proposal in June. “An attempt at a previous permission program had faults, however, technology has greatly improved over the last decade to where enforcement and payment would be much simpler.”

Council member Matt Herndon said he appreciates the plan because the borough is hamstrung by state laws that restrict local taxing power which could otherwise recoup costs incurred by visitors.

“State law prevents us from properly charging visitors to State College for the municipal services that they use,” Herndon said. “We certainly love visitors to our town. I hope that they can accept a small parking fee to help pay for the municipal services that they are using, like the very roads that they are parking on.

“It’s important to reiterate that street parking fees go to the general fund. So every dollar this raises is a dollar that we don’t have to collect via property tax or income tax. And while I think it’s unlikely to raise enough to cover the true municipal cost of visitors here, I think it’s a good start.”