SCRANTON — The downtown streetscape at Lackawanna and Jefferson avenues will soon have something it long lacked: a sidewalk.
Construction of a new walkway along part of the historic Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel and across from Benny’s Restaurant & Bar (the former Railyard and before that Kildare’s) is one aspect of a larger streetscape project improving that immediate area.
Set in motion last summer, this “Lackawanna Avenue Streetscape project” was the first one to get off the ground under an ambitious, sweeping overhaul of many streets downtown approved last year by Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and Scranton City Council. It all stemmed from a 2023 connectivity study, which has also been called a walkability study, and that proposed numerous ways to improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow throughout the downtown.
Previously, the sidewalk along the Radisson ended at the small bus shelter spot and didn’t pick up again until some distance down Lackawanna Avenue, along a large retaining wall. A smaller retaining wall near the bus shelter was so badly deteriorated and crumbling it had to be cordoned off from the road with concrete barriers. Now, a newly constructed sidewalk and small retaining wall will replace that blighted, disjointed gap in the streetscape and allow pedestrians to stay out of the road there.
Work underway on a streetscape improvement project along Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton on April 30, 2026, near the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
This Lackawanna Avenue streetscape project in the 600 block and extending along Jefferson Avenue to Biden Street involves: reinforcing the approximately 15-foot-tall, curved retaining wall spanning the block between the Radisson and the Station Center building at 600 Lackawanna Ave.; repairing the smaller, shorter retaining wall near where the bus hut was stationed, where Jefferson Avenue meets Lackawanna Avenue; replacing sidewalks and curbs on both sides of the streets, from the Biden Expressway and around the bend to the intersection of Adams and Cedar avenues; installing period lighting; and planting trees.
This project should get completed this summer, city Communications Director Christopher Hughes said.
The large railroad retaining wall between the Radisson and the Station Center building at the corner of Lackawanna and Cedar avenues likely dates to 1908. Based upon historical postcard images, this large retaining wall probably is original to the 1908 Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad station that is now the Radisson, Lackawanna Historical Society Assistant Director Sarah Piccini had said in an August 2025 article in The Times-Tribune.
A plaque at the Radisson from 1951 commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company says: “Here in Scranton, Pennsylvania, was conceived and brought to successful completion the first segment of what is now the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, on which the first train was operated October 15, 1851. To George Whitfield Scranton (1811-1861) who more than any other person is entitled to be called the ‘Father’ of this railroad — and to all employees, past and present, whose loyalty and devotion to duty have made possible the first hundred years of service to our patrons, neighbors and friends, we dedicate this plaque on October 15, 1951.
An early 1900s historical image of a retaining wall at the Lackawanna Railroad Depot, which today is the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in downtown Scranton. (IMAGE PROVIDED / COURTESY OF LACKAWANNA HISTORICAL SOCIETY)
Work underway on a streetscape improvement project along Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton on April 30, 2026, near the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Meanwhile, other excavation work taking place around the downtown also might be part of the streetscape overhaul that also involves improvements to utilities and old vaults under sidewalks.
“Work on multiple aspects of our streetscape projects continues throughout downtown Scranton, mainly on the streets that surround Courthouse Square,” Hughes said. “We have been keeping traffic moving throughout these projects and are alleviating congestion as things progress.”
In October, council adopted three ordinances from Cognetti’s administration underlying the various downtown streetscape changes. Those call for replacing some traffic lights with stop signs and reverting some one-way streets to two-way; narrowing some vehicle travel lanes and adding curb bump-outs at intersections to improve pedestrian safety; and in certain spots adding bike lanes and parking spaces.
The administration is still developing a timetable for stoplight changes downtown, Hughes said.
Previously, a smaller project downtown that was done in the fall in the 500 block of Lackawanna Avenue involved removal of the concrete median there and creation of several parking spaces on the odd-numbered side of that street.
Elsewhere in the city:
• In South Side, a Cedar Avenue streetscape project that began in September nears completion with trees planted late last week and pavement restoration occurring this week, Hughes said.
• A West Scranton “gateway” along a 500-foot-long stretch of North Main Avenue between Euclid Avenue and West Gibson Street involves installation of new sidewalks and curbs, period lighting, a decorative stone retaining wall, the planting of trees, traffic control, pavement restoration and related work.
Work underway on a streetscape improvement project along Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton on April 30, 2026, near the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
An early 1900s historical image of a retaining wall at the Lackawanna Railroad Depot, which today is the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in downtown Scranton. (IMAGE PROVIDED / COURTESY OF LACKAWANNA HISTORICAL SOCIETY)
Work underway on a streetscape improvement project along Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton on April 30, 2026, near the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Work underway on a streetscape improvement project along Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton on April 30, 2026, near the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Work underway on a streetscape improvement project along Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton on April 30, 2026, near the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Work underway on a streetscape improvement project along Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton on April 30, 2026, near the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Work underway on a streetscape improvement project along Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton on April 30, 2026, near the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in Scranton on April 15, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
At the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel in downtown Scranton, a plaque from 1951 commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company. Photo taken April 30, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Show Caption
1 of 9
Work underway on a streetscape improvement project along Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton on April 30, 2026, near the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)