Penn State’s annual Homecoming celebration is back this weekend, and with it comes a handful of parking and traffic changes before Friday’s parade on campus and downtown and Saturday’s football game at Beaver Stadium.
Here’s what you can expect if you’re heading to State College this weekend.
Homecoming Parade
Penn State’s Homecoming parade will wind through campus and downtown State College starting at 6 p.m. on Friday. Before the floats begin to roll, some roads along the route will close.
According to the university, the following roads will be closed Friday evening to accommodate the parade:
- Porter Road between Curtin Road and the southernmost entrance to the Jordan East parking area from 4:30 p.m. until parade units have left the area (expected to be around 6 p.m.)
- Curtin Road between University Drive and Porter Road from 4:30 p.m. through the conclusion of the parade
- Curtin Road between University Drive and Bigler Road from 5:30 p.m. through the conclusion of the parade
- Bigler Road between Curtin Road and Pollock Road from 5:30 p.m. through the conclusion of the parade
- Pollock Road between Bigler Road and Shortlidge Road from 5:30 p.m. through the conclusion of the parade
- Shortlidge Road between Pollock Road and College Avenue from 5:30 p.m. through the conclusion of the parade
- College Avenue between Shortlidge Road and Burrowes Road from 5:30 p.m. through the conclusion of the parade
- Burrowes Road between College Avenue and Curtin Road from 5:30 p.m. through the conclusion of the parade
The parade organizes in the Orange B parking area near the Nittany Lion Softball Park and the fields east of Medlar Field. Once it’s ready to begin, the parade will follow this route:
- Form on Curtin Road and travel west, crossing University Drive, where the parade will be joined by units that have formed in Orange B and on the IM fields north of the IM Building.
- West on Curtin Road to Bigler Road.
- South on Bigler Road to Pollock Road.
- West on Pollock Road to Shortlidge Road.
- South on Shortlidge Road to College Avenue.
- West on College Avenue to Burrowes Road.
- North on Burrowes Road to Curtin Road.
- The parade will disperse at the Burrowes/Curtin intersection.
The parade route will be closed to traffic from 5:30 p.m. until the parade ends.
Penn State Parking
Paid visitor parking is available for $1 per hour at Penn State’s Nittany, East and West parking decks. The HUB Deck will also offer parking, although vehicles won’t be able to exit it throughout the parade’s duration.
To avoid getting parked in, Penn State students and employees should move their vehicles from the following areas before 5:30 p.m. on Friday:
- Yellow H (Shields Building)
- Yellow H (Wagner Building)
- Orange J (McCoy Natatorium)
- Lot 42 (north of Building 14) — vehicles must exit via Millennium Drive to Hastings Road.
- Lot 81 (at Ritner/Wolf Halls and Pollock Building) — vehicles must exit to Mifflin Road then travel south to McKean Road.
- HUB Parking Deck
- Yellow J (Atherton Hall)
- Yellow N (College Avenue in front of Health and Human Development)
- Red H (Noll Lab)
- Green C (Waring Commons)
- Red K (ARL)
Borough Parking
Downtown parking is available at the Beaver, Fraser and Pugh garages, as well as the McAllister Deck, Allen Lot and Beaver Lot.
From noon on Friday to 2 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, the borough will not enforce its “no parking from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.” restriction, nor its one- and two-hour parking limits. Lawn parking is not permitted. Pennsylvania Vehicle Code violations will still be enforced, and vehicles in violation are subject to ticketing and/or towing.
All metered parking will also be enforced from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Men’s Hockey Parking
Parking for Penn State men’s hockey’s matchup with St. Thomas at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, will be available at Stadium West, Jordan East and Porter North. Pre-paid parking is available for $5.50, while day-of parking will fetch $10.
The Yellow H Shields and Wagner lots will be reserved for premium permit holders only starting at 4 p.m. Those lots will remain open until 5:30 p.m., after which parking will be available only in the Stadium West and Jordan East lots.
Field Hockey Parking
Parking for No. 5 Penn State field hockey’s matchup with No. 2 Maryland at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, will be available at Stadium West, Jordan East and Porter North. Pre-paid parking is available for $5.50, while day-of parking will fest $10.
Due to the men’s hockey game, field hockey parking will not be permitted at the Yellow H lots near the Wagner and Shields buildings.
CATA Services
CATA’s Campus Shuttle service will end at 5 p.m. on Friday due to parade-related road closures. Check CATA’s website for changes to its campus and downtown bus routes.
Game Day Parking & Transit
As the No. 16 Nittany Lions get set to host Minnesota at Beaver Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Penn State will implement several parking and traffic changes, too.
The tailgate lots will open at 8 a.m. Beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, one-way traffic patterns and traffic restrictions will go into effect on Park Avenue, Porter Road and other roads near Beaver Stadium. Those with a pre-paid parking permit must follow the route assigned for their parking area and parking zone.
On-campus parking is available on Saturday at the following locations:
- East, HUB and Nittany parking decks: $40 (payable by credit card upon exiting at pay-on-foot machine)
- Eisenhower Deck: $40 (cash only)
- West Deck: $25 (payable by credit card upon exiting at pay-on-foot machine)
Increased fine amounts are in place for campus visitors parked in violation of university parking regulations during designated event weekends, including Saturday’s game. Namely, tailgating at on-campus parking decks is prohibited.
Read Penn State’s full game day parking release for information on individual campus lot closures and restrictions.
Transit
CATA’s Blue Loop, White Loop and Red Link will offer adjusted services on Saturday, Penn State said:
- Blue Loop: From the bus stop at College Avenue and Allen Street, the Blue Loop will follow normal routing to Curtin Road, where it will turn right on Bigler Road and right on Pollock Road, where it will resume normal routing.
- White Loop: From the bus stop at Beaver Avenue and Allen Street, the White Loop will follow normal routing to University Drive, where it will turn left on Hastings Road, right on Bigler Road, and left on Curtin Road, where it will resume normal routing.
- Red Link from West Campus to Innovation Park: The Red Link traveling to Innovation Park will follow normal routing on Curtin Road, where it will turn right on Bigler Road, left on Hastings Road, right on University Drive, right via exit ramp to College Avenue, right on College Avenue, left onto 322 west, right via exit ramp to Park Avenue, where it will travel to Mount Nittany Medical Center and resume normal outbound routing to Innovation Park.
- Red Link from Innovation Park to West Campus: The Red Link traveling to West Campus will service Innovation Park and travel 322 east to College Avenue, turn right on College Avenue, right on University Drive, left on Hastings Road, right on Bigler Road, left on Curtin Road, where it will resume normal routing to West Campus.
Additionally, CATA will operate its game day shuttle service to and from each football game. Visit CATA’s website for information on routes, stops, hours and fares.
