SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) \u2014 As Scranton celebrates its 160th anniversary, Mayor Paige Cognetti used her annual State of the City address to reflect on the city\u2019s turnaround and lay out what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n
Speaking Wednesday at University of Scranton, Cognetti framed her remarks as a \u201cthen and now\u201d comparison, pointing to the city\u2019s financial and operational progress since she took office in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a history of high borrowing costs… we inherited this situation and we rolled up our sleeves that first week and we got to work,” said Cognetti.<\/p>\n
Now, the mayor says, the city is on more stable footing, highlighting an upgraded credit rating to A-minus with a stable outlook, following more than a decade of financial recovery after losing its rating in 2011.<\/p>\n
From downtown construction to neighborhood upgrades, Cognetti emphasized that many of the changes residents are seeing are part of a long-term plan.<\/p>\n
Bob Durkin, president of the Scranton Chamber of Commerce, described the approach as a ripple effect starting in the city\u2019s core.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole idea is this hub and spoke. Let’s get it to happen in the downtown. Let\u2019s strengthen the whole rest of the center city and then ripple effect,\u201d Durkin said. \u201cWe continue to see that especially when you’re seeing all this construction. It\u2019s real. It\u2019s not a thought anymore. It’s not a plan. It\u2019s the implementation of a real plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Major infrastructure investments are underway across the city, including nearly $23 million in stormwater projects, aimed at preventing flooding in areas like Keyser Valley and North Scranton following severe weather events in recent years.<\/p>\n
Downtown alone is seeing more than $15 million in streetscape improvements, including new sidewalks, ADA-accessible ramps, updated lighting, and in some cases, converting one-way streets to two-way traffic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you get annoyed with the traffic, please just hold tight,\u201d Cognetti said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to make some of those one-ways, two-ways, which is going to be helpful for slowing down traffic. It\u2019s going to be great for the businesses who get double the eyes on their businesses. We will have more ADA compliant sidewalks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayor also highlighted continued investments in public safety.<\/p>\n
The Scranton Police Department is now fully accredited and using data-driven policing, with plans for a Real-Time Crime Center. More than $5 million has been invested in training, recruitment, and technology, along with partnerships like the Lackawanna College Police Academy.<\/p>\n
The Scranton Fire Department has also expanded training and upgraded equipment, with new apparatus and modern alerting systems planned.<\/p>\n
Across other departments, the city is modernizing operations, from fully digital permit applications in code enforcement to real-time data tracking in public works and expanded staffing and programming in parks and recreation.<\/p>\n
Recent park improvements total nearly $13 million, including upgrades to Nay Aug Park, where the pool is expected to reopen soon.<\/p>\n
Housing remains one of the city\u2019s top priorities, with more than 1,000 new units added and efforts underway to hold negligent landlords accountable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a really big deal, that we are expanding the housing stock in Scranton. This is an issue across the country. Ask any mayor, in any city, any town, any county in the whole country, what\u2019s the biggest issue that you have? You\u2019re probably going to get housing,” said Cognetti.<\/p>\n
Father Joseph Marina, president of the University of Scranton, praised the city\u2019s progress and its broader impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cScranton gets into your blood and your bones very quickly,\u201d Marina said. \u201cWe take pride in how the city has made such great strides in recent years in stabilizing its finances, in providing greater efficiency with services and transactions, and modernizing and streamlining operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The State of the City address kicks off a series of events marking Scranton\u2019s 160th birthday, including a community celebration at Everhart Museum on April 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) \u2014 As Scranton celebrates its 160th anniversary, Mayor Paige Cognetti used her annual State…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-173300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-scranton","9":"tag-scranton-headlines","10":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}