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Trees & Parks
The Department of Public Works plants, maintains, and removes trees in the grass plot areas along municipal streets and in local parks. They also provide full landscape maintenance for community properties and resources for volunteers and community service workers to maintain municipally-owned gardens and open space.
Trees located between the sidewalk and curb are planted, maintained and removed by the Public Works Department.
The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated State College as a “Tree City, U.S.A.,”an honor that indicates a high level of commitment by the Borough’s citizens and elected officials to manage their urban forest resource. The Municipal Tree Plan describes the contemporary state of the urban forest and its management in State College.
If you have questions or concerns about street trees, please call the Borough Arborist at (814) 234-7145 during normal business hours or (800) 479-0050 for emergencies or send an email to trees@statecollegepa.us.
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State College prides itself on having both safe, flat sidewalks as well as beautiful tree-lined streets. Many times, however, maintaining both can be difficult for the Borough and private property owners. At times, roots from adjacent trees may damage or raise sidewalk blocks and common attempts at repair may cause affected trees to decline or become hazardous. However, with proper planning and maintenance, both sidewalks and trees can co-exist. For more information please review the brochure below.
The Borough of State College prides itself on being a place where residents are encouraged to beautify the landscape. Through a recent survey, we have identified over 100 gardens planted by residents within the public right of way ranging from small mailbox plantings to large vegetable gardens. We do not discourage these gardens but must ensure they are maintained properly to create a clean, safe, and aesthetically pleasing environment. These plantings should not interfere with signage or sidewalks, obstruct sight distance of driveways or roads, or cause harm to street trees. Additionally, residents are required to obtain written permission from the Borough’s Public Works Department before placing anything in this area other than grass, such as vegetation, crushed stone, bricks or any other paving material.
We are requesting that any resident planning to add plants or other materials to the tree lawn please register his or her garden. In doing so, we will be better able to ensure public safety, disseminate information and reduce impacts of infrastructure improvements on plantings.