Altoona Parking Authority updates lighting, security cameras in SP+ Parking Garage
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About 100 new LED light panels and 18 new security cameras are now working inside the SP+ Parking Garage along 11th Avenue, offering users a more comfortable experience.
"We want to make sure downtown and the garage are safe, inviting and welcoming to everybody," City Mayor Matt Pacifico said.
According to Parking Authority manager David Curtis, 100 of the updated lights are scattered throughout the garage, including inside the two stairwells, in the front of the building under the canopy, by the entrance and exit and throughout each floor.
The light strips that currently line the perimeter of the building are at least 16 years old, he said, and they are searching for quotes to replace them.
The panels and security cameras were installed near the end of 2025. Curtis, who also received help from parking enforcement officer Bob Gattrell, recently converted the new panels to their system about three weeks ago.
Curtis, who began in the position this summer, said all of their new lights are supposed to remain on 24/7, but he noticed that a few panels might turn off during the day.
Typically, about 5% of all the garage's lights turn off during the day, he said. However, he has never seen any of the new lights go out after 6:55 p.m.
"So where it matters, they're on overnight," he said. "I've never seen one out overnight, but it's something that we are still troubleshooting around the margins."
Keeping the lights on throughout the day gives users a physiological benefit as well, so they understand that the lights are meant to be on 24/7, he said.
Thinking about how the new lights work at night, Pacifico said they'll remain on no matter where the user is in the garage, contrary to their previous motion-sensor lights.
"The area you were in was illuminated, but you were walking into darkness," Curtis added. "It's kind of this idea of, if you can't see, then you just don't know."
As for the garage's new security cameras, he said the real-time footage is relayed almost instantly to the network and his phone's application, with about a quarter-of-a-second lag.
Since Curtis took office in June, he said they haven't heard of any safety concerns happening inside the garage, but they heard of people preferring not to park there. So they read between the lines of people's preferences and took action.
In the last three weeks, he said they received the most compliments from their parking garage updates.
User testimonies
Nearby businesses and organizations whose employees lease about 160 spaces in the garage have reported a more comfortable parking experience.
Owner of Freedom Excursions, Bill Scully, noticed that the garage is much brighter and more comfortable since Curtis and the authority improved his parking facility.
"There's a lot of positive things happening," he said, "It's been good, and we're looking forward to more good things happening."
Sarah Vogel, owner of The Clay Cup, said many of her employees originally parked at a lot by The Mishler Theatre, but when it was under construction this summer, they parked inside the garage instead.
Before the lights were fixed, Vogel said she'd move her car before working late nights to avoid parking inside, because the garage was darker. Now, she doesn't have to.
"It's so well lit," she said. "It feels more like people are around and gives the impression that it's not in the middle of nowhere."
The garage also works for her employees who clock in during the early hours of the morning, she said.
"No one was paying attention to any of these things before," she said. "It's really cool to see that being prioritized for the businesses and for the people who live down here. And it makes it way more comfortable for other people to come and be patrons now."
A Pittsburgh-based couple who will take the train this fall is choosing to park their car in Altoona, believing the garage is the safest place to park, according to Main Street manager Jamie Foust.
"It's not something you think people would travel from out of town for -- our parking, but it's interesting that people are looking for and choosing Altoona when they have different options," she said.
Foust usually parks inside the garage, as her office is nearby. After the updates, she said her parking experience was greatly improved, adding that Curtis and the Parking Authority are making sure the garage is a clean and comfortable place to park.
Plus, the garage offers businesses considering moving downtown a place to park their cars.
"It's reassuring everyone there are options, particularly in the garage, for staff parking, and it helps us encourage businesses who might want to move downtown," she said.
Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.