SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A new ordinance was introduced at Tuesday night’s Scranton City Council meeting that would be giving downtown Scranton a makeover. 28/22 News Reporter Connor Coar was in the Electric City and has details about what could be coming to the city for the first time in generations.

Steps were taken Tuesday night at the Scranton City Council meeting to move towards giving downtown Scranton a makeover. The proposed plan would affect one-way roads that drivers have been use to for years.

The map below shows the proposed change. All of the red hexagons are going to be new stop signs. Currently, those stop sign locations are street lights.

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti says this proposal has been years in the making, even before she was sworn in as mayor in 2020.

“We wanna make sure it is as safe as possible here in Scranton. We are very excited that we have PennDOT’s approval for this, and now we are looking for city council’s stamp of approval so we can get shovels in the ground,” Mayor Cognetti explained.

The four roads that surround the Lackawanna County Courthouse, Linden Street, Adams Avenue, Biden Street, and North Washington Avenue, are currently one-way roads. Under the new proposal, those one-way roads could turn into two-way roads.

Lane restrictions on I-81 in Luzerne County

Jennifer Pasco from Throop, Lackawanna County, has general safety concerns about traffic in the area as someone who consistently walks downtown.

“It’s terrible these days. I mean, on any street these days. people don’t wanna stop, I mean, you’re basically almost getting hit by cars because people are very impatient around here for no reason to get to nowhere,” Pasco told 28/22 News.

28/22 News brought those concerns to the mayor. She says the two new two-way streets will naturally slow down traffic.

“These intersections that don’t warrant a traffic signal to a stop sign is actually safer for people. We will see traffic calmer. This has happened in other cities. It is going to make it safer,” Mayor Cognetti stated.

According to Mayor Cognetti, the traffic light intersections that will be turned to stop signs will also have a warning light over the road to remind drivers to stop at the intersections.

Another reason for the changes, according to Mayor Cognetti, is to reduce response time for first responders.

The Scranton City Council is meeting next Tuesday to hear public comment about the proposed changes.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to 28/22 News.