Scranton Planning Commission plans to weigh in on walkability plan
Jun. 28—SCRANTON — The city planning commission plans to weigh in on the mayor's new downtown walkability plan.
The commission, consisting of Chairman Todd Pousley, Jennifer Davis, Joseph "Jay" Murphy, Jack Finnerty and Gus Fahey, briefly discussed the plan Wednesday night, a week after Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and urban-design consultant Jeff Speck unveiled the "Downtown Scranton Connectivity Plan."
Commission members have not yet digested the 148-page plan that proposes numerous major changes, including reverting several one-way streets to two-way, replacing traffic signals with four-way stop signs at 22 intersections, revamping Lackawanna Avenue and Biden Street, incorporating bike lanes on streets, providing proper crosswalk markings and planting trees in some sidewalks.
The plan could take about five years to fully implement and some parts will be more quickly achievable than others, Speck had said. For example, the state Department of Transportation has veto power over removal of traffic signals and would have a say over reverting one-way streets to two-way.
Pousley asked what steps are needed going forward. City Planner Don King said the commission does not have any required input or oversight of the plan but could evaluate it and make a recommendation about it.
"There's no formal approval needed (from the commission) or anything like that. This would just be a review and recommendation," King said.
Changes involving signals and directions of streets presumably would also have to go before city council, he said.
Major changes would have to be presented to PennDOT through engineering designs, plans, traffic counts and additional analysis, all of which could take some time before implementation stages, King said.
"Regardless of the merit (of the connectivity plan), this could be a long and arduous process and I think worthy to do," Finnerty said. "I wonder if this commission, if this body could provide some useful proactivity in just moving the discussion, the dialogue (along), because I don't know what other agency within the city government would have that purview. Maybe this is our opportunity to think about a business plan going forward with this."
Fahey added, "I think the planning commission should be on record as saying that the concepts to make the downtown more walkable are goals that we also share on the planning commission, and that some of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the downtown could also be extended further than the study area and into our neighborhoods."
The board agreed to revisit the connectivity plan at a future meeting.
Other actions taken Wednesday included:
Final approval of a land development plan by Marathon Property Investments LLC to construct for internet-service provider RCN a 1,750-square-foot office building at 7 Oakwood Drive off North Keyser Avenue. Site work there is underway.
Preliminary approval of a land development plan by Scranton Primary Health to construct a 4,800-square-foot administration building at 921 Wyoming Ave. and Phelps Street, on the site of the former Mayuri Indian Cuisine, which was demolished three months ago to make way. The preliminary go-ahead, which allows Scranton Primary Health to start construction, requires 6-foot-wide sidewalks to be constructed along the 100-foot-long asphalt front of the property along Wyoming Avenue. The board also recommended planting of street trees along Wyoming Avenue as a pedestrian buffer. The Pine Brook neighborhood health center aims to move administrative functions out of its building at 959 Wyoming Ave., to make room there for expanded dental, behavioral health and primary medical care.
Tabled for further review a final land development plan by Electric City Development LLC, a firm of developer Don Mammano, to convert a 30,000-square-foot, three-story former factory building at 315 Poplar St. at Oakford Court in Pine Brook into 24 apartments. This conversion is underway. The board had various questions, including about sidewalks. A representative of the applicant was not present.
Accepted for review a final land development plan by Yeshivath Beth Moshe to construct a 24,000-square-foot dormitory at 930 Hickory St. in South Side. The plan calls for the Jewish school to keep the main existing building along Hickory Street, raze a small building connected to it and demolish a former nursing school fronting on Stafford Avenue. A new dorm would be constructed within the interior of the property. The existing main building is the former St. Mary's Hospital, where President Joe Biden was born Nov. 20, 1942. Biden lived at 2446 N. Washington Ave. in Green Ridge for most of his first 10 years before his family moved to Delaware. The hospital's name later changed to Mercy Heights Hospital, before it closed. In 1975, the Jewish school bought the former hospital property.
emailto:Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185; @jlockwoodTT on Twitter.
