Scranton officials unveil $15.5 million downtown streetscape plan after PennDOT approval

Scranton officials presented details of a PennDOT-approved downtown streetscape plan at a City Council briefing, describing a $15,500,000 package of improvements that would convert multiple one-way couplets to two-way traffic, remove unwarranted traffic signals, add pedestrian safety treatments and place many overhead utilities underground.

The project matters, officials said, because it is intended to slow vehicle speeds in the downtown retail and residential core, improve sightlines at crosswalks, add on-street parking and shorten emergency response routes — and because critical grant funding tied to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) rules must be spent by Sept. 30, 2026. “We are pleased to announce that PennDOT has approved this,” Mayor Cognetti said during the briefing.

City engineer Tom Riley and staff described the technical work behind the plan, which Riley said is grounded in a large traffic study and intersection-by-intersection analysis. “Reduce vehicle speeds, otherwise called traffic calming,” Riley said when summarizing the safety goals. The plan’s elements include converting certain two-lane one-way streets to two-way operation, adding curb bump-outs to shorten pedestrian crossings and…