Lackawanna County seeks public input on a new “road map” for safer streets with a goal of halving the number of fatal and severe crashes throughout the county over the next 20 years.
The countywide initiative called “Safe Streets Lackawanna” aims to create a safer, more accessible transportation system for vehicle drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders, according to an announcement of the new plan issued Wednesday.
Available online at www.lackawannacounty.org, the plan is open for public comment through Feb. 23. Comments can be submitted via email to Lackawanna County Planning Director Mary Liz Donato at donatoml@lackawannacounty.org.
Supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets for All (SS4A) program, the 107-page plan and two lengthy appendices “uses data, engineering best practices and community input to guide strategic safety investments,” and it has a goal of reducing by 50% the number of fatal and severe-injury crashes in the county by 2045, according to the announcement.
From 2019-2023, there were 399 “high-injury” crashes in the county that resulted in a fatality or serious injury. These included 87 fatal crashes and 312 serious-injury crashes. A 50% reduction in such high-injury crashes is an “ambitious and achievable” call to action aligning with the Federal Highway Administration’s Safe System Approach and Pennsylvania’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan; setting the goal will provide direction for policy, planning and investment decisions that will prioritize projects and programs that have the greatest potential to save lives and reduce harm, the plan says.
“This vision reflects the county’s belief that even one life lost on our roadways is too many,” the announcement said.
Extensive community engagement that included surveys, interactive maps, public events, focus groups and guidance from a multidisciplinary steering committee shaped the plan. Residents consistently emphasized concerns about speeding, unsafe driver behavior, gaps in sidewalks and crossings, poor nighttime visibility, and the need for safer, more connected walking, biking and transit options.
Some of the details in the plan include:
• Between 2019-2023, there were a total of 11,761 reported crashes in Lackawanna County, for an average of around 2,352 crashes per year. Of those 11,761 crashes, 44% resulted in a reported injury of some kind. Among injury crashes, there were 399 high-injury crashes. These life-altering crashes were composed of 312 serious-injury crashes and 87 fatal crashes.
• The plan looked at the county as four planning regions, which generally were: Scranton and Downvalley, which had 46% of the high-injury crashes; the Mid- and Upvalley areas, which had 23%; the Abingtons, 16%; and North Pocono, 15%.
• From 2019-2023 the number of overall crashes per year remained relatively stable, with a high of 2,525 in 2019 and a low of 2,115 in 2020, likely due to lower overall travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for an average of 2,352 per year. But high-injury crashes steadily rose over the same period, from a low of 58 in 2019 to a high of 103 in 2023, or an increase of 78%. “These increases are not unique to Lackawanna County and reflect a larger trend of the growing danger on our roadways at a national scale.”
• The plan considers the following: state and local roads; time of the year of crashes; driver behavior involving alcohol, speeding or aggressive driving; and pedestrian and bicyclist trends and concerns.
• It identifies seven “priority road corridors” throughout the county, including: Moosic Street/Route 307; the Scranton-Carbondale Highway/Business Route 6; Pittston Avenue/Route 11; Mulberry Street/Routes 11 and 307; the Scranton Pocono Highway, Routes 307 and 435; State Street/Routes 6 and 11; and Brooklyn Street/8th Avenue/Business Route 6.
• An appendix also lists a total of 35 near-term safety improvements totaling $9.1 million.
“Through coordinated action by county leadership, municipalities, state agencies and the public, Safe Streets Lackawanna provides a roadmap toward a safer future for everyone who lives, works or travels in Lackawanna County,” the announcement said.
Title page of “Safe Streets Lackawanna” plan, Jan. 21, 2026. (IMAGE COPIED / PLAN COURTESY OF LACKAWANNA COUNTY)