{"id":310134,"date":"2026-10-19T22:30:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T22:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/310134\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T22:30:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T22:30:06","slug":"pedestrians-biz-officials-share-mixed-reviews-for-new-downtown-traffic-patterns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/310134\/","title":{"rendered":"Pedestrians, biz officials share mixed reviews for new downtown traffic patterns"},"content":{"rendered":"

SCRANTON \u2014 As bags covered the pedestrian crossing signals on several downtown streets Monday morning, Dave Bilardi expressed concerns about safety walking around the city.<\/p>\n

On Monday, motorists were met with stop signs at 13 intersections throughout parts of the downtown \u2014 where traffic lights were previously in effect \u2014 as part of a test period to potentially permanently replace traffic signals with stop signs, city officials said. The traffic signals still exist, but have been set to flashing red lights.<\/p>\n

The intersections include: Biden Street at Franklin, Penn and Wyoming avenues; Linden Street at Franklin, Penn, Wyoming, North Washington and Adams avenues; Vine Street at Penn, North Washington, Adams and Jefferson avenues; and Olive Street at Jefferson Avenue.<\/p>\n

Bilardi, who lives in the Forum Towers on Linden Street, witnessed two vehicles run a stop sign Sunday night after they were installed and described the process of covering up the crossing signals as \u201cdangerous\u201d while walking with David Major on Penn Avenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him we\u2019re not crossing the street unless there is no traffic whatsoever, because you don\u2019t know if they are going to stop at the stop sign, or if they\u2019re going to see it,\u201d Bilardi said.<\/p>\n

While Bilardi lauded officials for making several improvements in the city\u2019s commercial hub, he has some reservations about the potential change in traffic patterns and worries drivers may run the stop signs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think everything they\u2019ve done has really boosted downtown,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a lot of change. This one, we\u2019ll have to wait and see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anthony Trama, 72, of West Scranton, noted walking around the downtown remains a struggle and isn\u2019t sure the new process will be a solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrossing streets are very, very difficult, and I think it\u2019s safer the other way with the lights,\u201d he said. \u201cWith the stop signs, obviously they have to stop and you might eliminate the problem of people who run lights. That might be a plus, but in the long run I think it\u2019s better to stay with the lights.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A lighted stop sign is in place at Penn Avenue and Linden Street in Scranton on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"Anthony<\/p>\n

Anthony Trama, 72, of West Scranton, walks through the intersection of Biden Street and Penn Avenue in downtown Scranton on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (ROBERT TOMKAVAGE\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A pedestrian crosses North Washington Avenue in Scranton on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A truck, framed by road work signs, moves down Adams Avenue toward Mulberry Street in Scranton on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A vehicle passes through the intersection of North Washington Avenue and Linden Street in Scranton on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A vehicle stops at a stop sign at North Washington Avenue and Linden Street in Scranton on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Scranton police officer crosses North Washington Avenue in Scranton on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 7<\/p>\n

A lighted stop sign is in place at Penn Avenue and Linden Street in Scranton on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cathy Best of Scranton didn\u2019t encounter any challenges driving to Mass on Monday morning but worries about parking arrangements when Linden Street \u2014 from Penn Avenue to Jefferson Avenue \u2014 switches to two-way traffic following the minimum 30-day transition phase.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be worse, it could be a roundabout,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I heard this might be two ways and I come here every day to church. I\u2019m not sure where I\u2019m going to be able to park.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liz Baldi, business development director for Scranton Tomorrow, maintains the traffic changes will help make the downtown safer and more accessible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think adding stop signs and taking away some of the unnecessary traffic lights is going to decrease the amount of cars, and reduce the speed they\u2019re moving at, which will make it more pedestrian safe and really allow people to stop using downtown as a shortcut to the interstate and use it as a way to get to all the destinations we have downtown,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want people rushing through as fast as they can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baldi didn\u2019t witness any problems or traffic backups Monday morning, but admitted it will take time for everyone to adjust to the new procedures.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it was one way for many years, not necessarily saying it was the right way, with any change at this point there is going to be a transition period.\u201d<\/p>\n

City officials will use traffic cameras and engineering staff from Reilly Associates, the city engineer, to evaluate the vehicular and pedestrian traffic at the changed intersections. Reilly traffic technicians, under the supervision of traffic engineers, will monitor the intersections for metrics, such as the number of vehicles in the queue, compliance with stop signs, pedestrian activity, driver confusion and congestion during the trial phase, city officials said.<\/p>\n

Denise Leppo, general manager of Downtown Deli, located at Biden Street and Penn Avenue, believes the new traffic rules will benefit downtown businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a positive,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to slow people down. People fly down the streets all the time, so hopefully it will slow them down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, Leppo doesn\u2019t feel the changes will deter customers from eating and shopping in downtown Scranton.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to make sure we offer the best products, good customer service, and people are going to come down,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to stop them. We can\u2019t move forward by standing still, so we need a little bit of change. We\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON \u2014 As bags covered the pedestrian crossing signals on several downtown streets Monday morning, Dave Bilardi expressed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,139,28,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-310134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310134","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=310134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}