Penn State’s University Police and Public Safety (UPPS) Emergency Management unit is reaching the end of a two-year project to provide all locations on campus and across Penn State’s Commonwealth campuses with 911 addresses for emergencies.

In January 2024, over 20 new street signs were installed across campus to provide all buildings on campus with an identifiable address. Names like “Old Coaly Way,” a nod to Penn State’s first mascot, or “Homecoming Drive” are some of the notable new names selected as part of the completion of the project. Other street names, like “Serviceberry,” “Silver Maple,” and “Sweet Birch” are all trees native to Pennsylvania.

“The proper addressing of buildings on our Penn State campuses, meeting 911 requirements, proactively works to assist first responders, including police, fire and emergency medical services (EMS), when responding to incidents on our Penn State campuses,” said Chief of Police of Public Safety Wesley Sheets said in a release. “The countless hours taken to correctly identify and label locations in our communities will result in a faster response time when first responders are called on in an emergency, which can be lifesaving.”

UPPS said it is excited by the possibility of improving response times of emergency services when seconds are critical. Completion of the project required partnerships with many internal stakeholders, like the Office of Physical Plant, Transportation Services, and others.

The university also partnered with Centre County 911 and the Addressing Department to find new road names that fit its respective criteria for adequate addressing and the U.S. Postal Service, fire departments, EMS, and police departments across municipalities.

“Prior to the completion of this project, emergency responders either needed to know the campuses well or were provided with general locations to work from to get to a correct location during an emergency,” Alex Craige, emergency management senior coordinator, who led and managed the project, said.

For now, new addresses should only be used for emergencies as the new addresses haven’t been updated in every system across the university. It’s expected that the new addresses could soon be used for other purposes, like addressing mail to students living on campus.