City of Scranton Council Responses | October 27, 2026

Council President Tom Schuster asked the following question(s):

• Mr. Schuster asked when the city DPW may please schedule the E Mountain and W Mountain areas to clear the many swales, basins, and roadside ditches that clog with leaves and debris this time of year.
  • The schedule for the Leaf Vac (based on manpower and equipment availability):
    • Monday – East Mountain / South Side
    • Tuesday – East Scranton / Hill Section 
    • Wednesday – West Mountain / West Side 
    • Thursday – Greenridge / Central City
    • Friday – City Parks
  •  Special attention will be paid to mountain swales and basin grates in all areas.
• Mr. Schuster also submitted the following question directly to the Project Management team: Could we please have a quick update on the monitoring of traffic in the downtown area? Is monitoring continued 24 hr straight? Do we monitor for those not complying with the new patterns? Could you give a brief overview of what metrics are being used for decision making?
  • The following data is being collected by traffic engineering technicians at each intersection during the AM Traffic Peak, Midday and PM Traffic Peak several times each week. Intersections are also reviewed by traffic staff at off-peak times including night and weekend for performance and compliance.
    • Vehicle maximum queue and delay at each approach
    • Vehicle compliance with stop sign (stopping, rolling through, not stopping)
    • Vehicle compliance with yielding to pedestrians
    • Number of pedestrians
  • Intersections are also being monitored on site by police and using CCTV and reports made of observations of compliance, queues, and driver behavior.
  • Traffic Engineers and Police will review the data and assess the performance data and make adjustments in any monitoring frequency at the following intervals after the initiation. Interim Reports will be made at the following intervals:
    • Two Weeks
    • 30 Days
    • 60 Days
  • At 90 Days, the performance data and any crash data and reports for each intersection will be compared to data gathering in the pre-construction phase and with standards for signalized and stop sign intersections, and recommendations will be made for continuing or discontinuing the removal study. The reports will be reviewed with PennDOT and the City.
  • Signal equipment will remain in place for an additional 90 days. At the end of the total 180 days or 6 months from the beginning of study and added crash data will be evaluated and compared to the crash history evaluated pre-construction and any issues addressed.  The 6-month report will make a final recommendation for signal removal which will be reviewed by the City and PennDOT. After the 6-month removal report acceptance, the removal of signal poles and equipment can proceed.

Council Vice President Patrick Flynn asked the following question(s):

• Mr. Flynn asked, with the opening of the E Elm Street Bridge project, Mr. Flynn was advised by residents that, prior to the project, a directional sign was located on E Elm Street just prior to the viaduct advising motorists to use left or right blinkers to signal their direction left toward the viaduct or right towards 4th Avenue. This allowed vehicles moving south on 4th Avenue toward E Elm Street to be aware of the direction the other vehicles were traveling. Councilman Flyn asked if this type of sign may be replaced on the roadway.
  • DPW Traffic Maintenance will develop a traffic sign asking motorists to use their turn signals at 4th Ave and E. Elm Street.
• Councilman Flynn asked when the leaf pickup days and times may be available to the public. Many homes have started to place their leaves on the curbs.
  • Leaf pickup will coincide with normal paper and cardboard recycling pickup during the weeks of October 26-30 and November 9-14. Residents can place leaves in brown paper yard waste bags and leave them curbside on their normal refuse and recycling pickup days. Please keep leaves separate from household trash and other recyclables

Councilman Sean McAndrew asked the following question(s):

• Mr. McAndrew thanked the administration for their response under 2.c. in the attached October 20th Responses to Council. The city advised that if any information is missing, the city will reach out to the applicant to provide. May the administration please provide some examples of situations where it wasn’t all there and they had to reach out, and how long did it take for that to be resolved; or examples that show the start date when the application was submitted and when it was re-awarded?
  • Examples of situations where information is missing are generally under Requirement B Option for Contractors License and includes:
    • Applicant needs to provide experience in said field working under licensed contractor for 8 years – must provide W2’s or 1099’s. In the case where W2s cannot be produced, notarized referral letters from a licensed contractor for whom they worked for shall be submitted.
    • Notarized referral letters from all of the following:
      • One letter from licensed contractor for whom applicant was employed for 3 years
      • One letter from a licensed 3rd party inspection agency (does not have to be from PA)
      • Five letters from customers the applicant has performed work for
      • Three letters from contractors in the construction field (does not have to be within the same field)
      • One letter from a licensed design professional within PA (Engineer, Architect, Etc.).
    • The timeframe for approval or denial remains as previously stated: applications containing all required documentation are approved or denied within 24 hours. The applicant is responsible for providing all required information and documentation. The Code Enforcement Office’s ability to make a determination depends on the applicant’s submission of the necessary materials, and the timeframe for providing any missing information is outside the Office’s control.
• Councilman McAndrew asked that the city Parks & Rec team address conditions at Weston Field that includes a lot of debris that includes metal pipes, garbage, and park equipment around the skate park and asked if the overall project at Weston Field is complete? He indicated city trucks are parking at the field and asked if they be parked at DPW headquarters on weekends to allow for more public parking. Mr. McAndrew also asked if the proposed tree line along the fence will be planted this Fall or held until next Spring.
  • There are metal rails next to the dumpster that are to be integrated into the skate park. Those will be placed in the coming weeks
  • The equipment will be stored elsewhere as soon as an appropriate location is identified for ease of access. Moving forward, Parks vehicles will either be parked at DPW or near the small garage at Weston Field. The Parks Director’s vehicle will remain where it is. Trees cannot be planted along the fence line due to underground electrical wires for the light poles. However, we will have decorative planters made by next year’s OVR summer work group that would accommodate bushes and perennials to make the area more aesthetically pleasing.

• A 311 request was shared with the administration regarding a property at 1208-1210 Philo Street
  • The property was posted, and the letter was sent via certified and regular mail, all on October 23. The city has not received a response as of October 26.

From October 13 Meeting:

• Councilman McAndrew has asked if the city may provide Council with a list of companies or entities who have contracts with the city, vendor name, their contract expiration date, which department within the city they are contracted with (IT, SPD, etc.), and please indicate those that are on a auto renewal.
  • The information is attached as a separate document.

City of Scranton Council Responses – October 27, 2026 | PDF

Last modified: October 28, 2026