Residents raise flooding, parking-kiosk failures, Code Blue shelter and safety concerns during public comment

During citizens— participation at the Sept. 30 Scranton City Council meeting, several residents described recurring flooding, malfunctioning parking kiosks, park maintenance issues and public-safety concerns including ATVs and scooters on streets.

Norma Jeffries, a Scranton resident, told council she encountered unclear information on the city website about household hazardous waste drop-off and described repeated flooding at the Alice Street and Kapowas Avenue intersection that has created a hazard for Scranton High School students. Council responded that the Laquanda (Laquanda/Laquanda?) Avenue streetscape project included portions of that corridor and that contractors had been chosen, and that item was on the evening agenda for approval.

Les Spindler and Tom Coyne raised public-safety and stormwater problems: Spindler urged enforcement of rules against ATVs, e-bikes and scooters and described dangerous riding on main streets and highways; Coyne and others described local drainage failures and washed-out park areas at McDonough between Cedar and Colliery, pooling that undermined curbs and a porta-potty left submerged near playgrounds. Councilmembers said the city engineer and DPW would be asked to investigate the drainage and paving issues.

Doris Koloski and others reported multiple parking-kiosk failures in downtown areas and difficulties using credit cards and kiosks after extended parking hours began; Councilmember Vollberg said he had an email to the parking authority and would follow up and request operational statistics and public-education efforts. Council asked the administration to report on kiosk operational status and outreach about extended meters.

Councilmember Doctor Rothschild and others followed up on Code Blue shelter coverage after Keystone Mission closed its program; the administration said it is engaging partners to identify a replacement provider and that Parks & Recreation staff sometimes work overtime to operate emergency shelter nights, which has budget and staffing implications.

Several speakers also asked the council to inspect the East Mountain lookout, reporting missing stones and lacking lighting; councilmembers said the city engineer was being asked to evaluate repairs, lighting and potential cameras.

Council members agreed to contact DPW, the city engineer and relevant authorities for reports and to request updates in future meetings. Several residents thanked DPW crews for recent street and curb repairs in their neighborhoods.

The comments reflected recurring infrastructure and public safety issues raised across the city; council committed to follow-up inquiries and to have staff report back to the appropriate committees.