UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The annual Penn State Homecoming parade will wind through the streets of the University Park campus and the Borough of State College on Friday, Oct. 9. The parade, featuring numerous campus and community groups, marching bands and organizational floats, is a centerpiece of the University's week-long Homecoming 2015 festivities.PARADE ROUTEThe parade will begin at 6 p.m. Friday. Participants will organize in the fields east of Medlar Field. From there, the parade units will follow the following route:
- Form on Porter Road
- West on Curtin Road, crossing University Drive, where the parade will be joined by units that have formed on the Intramural fields north of the Intramural 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
- The parade will disperse at the Burrowes/Pollock Road intersection
ROADWAY/LOT CLOSURESThe parade route will be closed to vehicular traffic from 5:30 p.m. through the conclusion of the parade. Parking along the route will be restricted. Motorists must remove parked vehicles on College Avenue prior to the start of the parade.Porter Road will be closed to all northbound traffic from Hastings Road to Curtin Road from 5:30 p.m. until the parade units clear the roadway. The Curtin Road exit, as well as Porter Road exits #2, #3, and #4 out of Lot 44 will also be closed. The #5 exit from Lot 44 to Porter Road will be used for entry only. No traffic will be allowed to exit onto Porter Road until the parade clears. All traffic exiting Lot 44 will need to travel west on Dauer Drive (located south of the Bryce Jordan Center), where vehicles will be allowed to turn north or south on to University Drive.Due to the formation and movement of parade units, the sections of Lot Yellow H at the IM Building and the Wagner Building, and Lot Orange B (softball park), will be closed beginning at 3:30 p.m. Vehicles already parked in Orange B may remain, but additional parking will not be available after 3:30 p.m. All vehicles must be removed from the Yellow H IM and Wagner lots by 5:30 p.m.Faculty/staff and students who do not wish to remain until the conclusion of the parade, should make plans to remove their vehicles from the following areas before 5:30 p.m. Friday:
- Yellow H (Shields Building)
- Yellow H (IM Building)
- Yellow H (Wagner Building)
- Orange J (McCoy Natatorium)
- Lot 42 (north of Building 14)
- Lot 81 (at Ritner/Wolf Halls and Pollock Building) - must exit to Mifflin Road then travel south to McKean Road
- HUB Parking Deck (Yellow C)
- Yellow J (Atherton Hall)
- Yellow N (College Avenue in front of Health and Human Development)
- Lot Brown A (Reber and Deike buildings)
Please note that Pollock Road will remain open to Burrowes Road for vehicles exiting Lot Brown A Willard, Brown E Fraser Road and Old Main.
University Police will be stationed along the parade route beginning at 5 p.m. to help facilitate rush-hour traffic flow and begin closing the route.PARADE PARKINGParking for those who wish to view the parade will be available from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the following locations:
- Lot Red A (west of North Atherton Street)
- Nittany Parking Deck (next to the Nittany Lion Inn)
- East Parking Deck (located near the corner of Bigler and Curtin Roads)
- Eisenhower Deck (next to Eisenhower Auditorium)
- HUB Parking Deck
Vehicles entering prior to 4 p.m. or remaining past 9 p.m. in the East, HUB or Nittany Decks will be charged $1 per hour for parking (no charge after 4 p.m. with a valid Penn State parking permit).Vehicles without a valid University Park faculty/staff permit wishing to park overnight must purchase a $30 weekend parking permit. These permits are available at the entrance to all four campus parking decks (East, Eisenhower, HUB, Nittany) and Lot Red A at White Course Drive.
Please note that parade parking is not permitted in any parking lot designated for resident student parking (Brown 11 White Course Apartments, Lot 22 Eastview, Lot 42 Nittany Apartments, Lot 81 South/Pollock Halls, Lot 82 East Halls, or Lot 43 or Lot 83 on Hastings Road).CONCERT TRAFFIC ADVISORYDue to the concert scheduled for Friday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center, a $10 event parking fee will be charged beginning at 5:30 p.m. for visitors wishing to park in the following areas:
- Lot Stadium West (West of Beaver Stadium)
- Lot Porter North (North of Medlar Field)
- Lot 44 (east of Bryce Jordan Center)
There will be no charge in these lots for vehicles with a valid Penn State parking permit.Guests coming to the concert are advised that access to Lot 44 will be available by traveling north on Porter Road from College Avenue, or by traveling east on Dauer Road from University Drive.Access to Lot Stadium West will remain available from Park Avenue only.Access to Lot Porter North will be available only by traveling south on Porter Road. Please note, however, that there will be no access southbound on Porter Road from Park Avenue from 5:45 p.m. until the parade floats clear Porter Road.All vehicles must be removed from these lots before midnight Friday night in advance of Saturday's home football game.ADJUSTMENTS TO CAMPUS TRANSITThe following transit route adjustments will be in effect from approximately 5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. Friday:BLUE LOOP - There will be no Blue Loop service during the parade. All buses that usually provide Blue Loop service at this time will be redirected to operate as additional White Loop or Red Link service.WHITE LOOP - The White Loop will follow the following routing for the duration of the parade:From Beaver Avenue at Schlow Centre Region Library, the bus will follow normal routing to University Drive. The bus will then travel University Drive to Park Avenue, turn left on Park Avenue, left on Shortlidge Road, and right on Curtin Road. The bus will travel Curtin Road to Curtin Road Extension, turn right on Curtin Road Extension, left on Atherton Street, and left on Beaver Avenue, where it will travel back to Schlow Library. There will be no service to the bus stops on Curtin Road between University Drive and Shortlidge Road, or to Burrowes Road.RED LINK - The Red Link will follow the following routing for the duration of the parade:From West Campus, the bus will follow normal routing to the Pavilion Theater traveling on Curtin Road to Shortlidge Road, turn left on Shortlidge Road to Park Avenue, and then stay on Park Avenue to Innovation Park. From Innovation Park, the bus will follow normal routing to Park Avenue, where the bus will travel to Shortlidge Road, turn left on Shortlidge Road, and right on Curtin Road, where the bus will resume normal routing to West Campus. Temporary stops will be placed along Park Avenue to accommodate those needing to access Parking Lots Stadium West, Lot 44 and the Centre County/Penn State Visitor Center.There will be no service to the bus stops on Curtin Road between Shortlidge Road and Porter Road, and no service to the stops on Porter Road near Medlar Field, or near the Centre County Visitor Center.GREEN LINK - From 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m., the Green Link will follow the Red Link detour routing.Campus and Paratransit Shuttles - Service will stop at 5 p.m. due to parade-related road closures.Penn State University Police will be directing traffic at various intersections on campus, and there may be delays.MAP AND CONTACT INFORMATIONClick on the link below to view a map of areas impacted by the 2015 Homecoming Parade:https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z0Y3e_o7ZDTg.ktu-0cXSqtRkAny parking-related questions should be directed to the Parking Office by phone at 814-865-1436. For traffic-related questions, please contact University Police at 814-863-1111. Questions related to CATA service should be directed to the CATA office at 814-238-2282.