SCRANTON, PA. – The City of Scranton celebrated the completion of its first pedestrian and driver safety improvement project on June 1 with a ceremonial ribbon cutting along Cedar Avenue. The South Scranton corridor was the focus of an estimated $700,000 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) project that included the installation of new concrete sidewalks and curbs, signage improvements, new trees including native lilacs, and pavement restoration.
“We continue to make critical investments in pedestrian and driver safety across Scranton,” Mayor Paige G. Cognetti said. “While we’re here to celebrate the completion of the Cedar Avenue streetscape, we’re excited to see the work occurring on Main Avenue in West Scranton and throughout our beautiful downtown. These projects are helping us slow down traffic to make travel safer for those who walk or drive, and they’re also beautifying our neighborhoods.”
The Cedar Avenue streetscape project was engineered by Barry Isett & Associates, construction was led by American Asphalt, and planting was completed by Green Valley Landscaping. Work began last September to improve one of South Scranton’s major corridors, from Orchard Street to Alder Street.
The intersection of Cedar and Orchard is a major entry point from Interstate 81 and the President Biden Expressway and is just one block from the historic Scranton Iron Furnaces. The City’s 2023 walkability study identified Cedar Avenue’s “potential as a retail corridor” and its role as a “primary access point to South Scranton.” It is “the key connector for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists into the Iron District, and that southern neighborhood’s vitality depends in no small part on the street’s ability to balance all modes” of transportation.
As the Cedar Avenue project ends, work continues downtown and in West Scranton. The most significant system of changes is happening downtown, where projects totaling $15.3 million will produce new sidewalks and curbs, install accessible ramps, add period lighting, and move utility cables underground. Where it’s safe to do so, the City will also convert some one-way roads to two-way streets and replace traffic signals with stop signs. Projects are being completed through a combination of ARPA funds, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Multimodal grants, state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grants, Local Share Account (LSA) grants, and more.
Crews are also transforming the gateway to West Scranton with safer sidewalks and other features in a project estimated at $1.6 million including ARPA funds, a PennDOT Multimodal Transportation Fund grant, and a LSA grant.
Streetscape projects are in addition to years of prior investments including $10 million in street paving from 2021 to 2026, repainted crosswalks and school zone markers, and replacing thousands of damaged and missing street signs.
ABOUT THE CITY OF SCRANTON: Incorporated in 1866, the City of Scranton has a population of approximately 76,000 residents and is the sixth-largest municipality in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Scranton City Hall is located at 340 N. Washington Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. Residents requiring services should visit www.scrantonpa.gov
ABOUT MAYOR PAIGE G. COGNETTI: Paige G. Cognetti was sworn in as the 36th Mayor of Scranton in January 2020 and took her third Oath of Office in January 2026. Her administration is focused on public safety, driving economic growth, upgrading infrastructure, government transparency and efficiency, and improving residents’ overall quality of life.
Cedar Avenue Streetscape Project Revitalizes South Scranton Corridor | Press Release
Last modified: June 1, 2026
