The State College Borough Council met virtually Monday night to unanimously approve the construction of a seasonal walkway that would promote outdoor dining at Bill Pickle’s Taproom during warm-weather months while also improving pedestrian access along South Allen Street.

The “pedlet” will be constructed and in place from spring to fall months where two parking spots in front of the restaurant at 106 S. Allen Street currently sit. It will essentially create a sidewalk that directs foot traffic around Pickle’s new outdoor dining area.

The pedlet will be constructed by Hotel State College & Co., which owns the establishment. The company will be responsible for constructing the pedlet no earlier than April 1 and removing it by October 31.

According to the project’s description, the company aims to construct the pedlet “with a focus on providing an attractive walkway and deck, in accordance with the rendering, that enhances the streetscape along Allen Street.”

The area will be accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act and remain fenced off along the street side. Its construction will need to work around a neighboring tree and electric pole, and it will relocate a nearby bench. However, borough engineer Andy Arnold supported the project last week and said the overall concept “is there.”

Hotel State College will essentially rent the parking spaces occupied by the pedlet from the borough to replace lost revenue.

Jeff Sorg, CEO of Pat Croce and Company, which owns Hotel State College businesses, said last week the company wanted to explore new outdoor dining concepts that address concerns with the narrow sidewalk paths created by Pickle’s current deck, approved in 2017.

“We’ve looked at [a pedlet] for several of our restaurant locations because it’s growing in popularity as a way to promote pedestrian walkways while also facilitating increased outdoor dining,” Sorg told the State College Transportation Commission. “Hopefully this model is one that will work. We think it’s an attractive look. From what we’ve seen in other downtown locations, hopefully it promotes pedestrian visitation and provides a nice guest experience downtown.”

At Monday night’s council meeting, Curtis Shulman, director of operations at Hotel State College and Pickle’s, said the pedlet will create “a more natural flow” on Allen Street and help the establishment’s setup look “more complete.”

Council members also said they supported the plan, noting it’s an improvement from previous versions of Pickle’s outdoor setup.

“This is a very creative and innovative solution to outdoor dining and the schematics are wonderful,” Councilwoman Katherine Yeaple said. “I think this is a step toward making downtown State College more pedestrian-friendly.”

Councilwoman Theresa Lafer said she was not in favor of the previous design for the outdoor dining area but likes the new concept.

“Oddly enough since I did not like the last version of this, I do prefer this,” Lafer said. “I think the idea of using a space over the road for protected pedestrians is much better than trying to squeeze everybody into the space that we did before, which was potentially quite dangerous and really difficult for anybody who was not extremely mobile. I think that properly built this will be a much better option.”

Last week, the Downtown State College Improvement District submitted a letter of support for the plan. Commission members said the pedlet would “enhance the downtown experience” and provide value to the borough.

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StateCollege.com’s Geoff Rushton contributed to this report.