SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Parking in Downtown Scranton is undergoing changes. Drivers will not only have to pay more but also for a longer period of time.
This change comes after the city of Scranton had to renegotiate some of its debt financing in July, so drivers looking for a place to park should expect to pay.
"I know the city needs and wants to make money, but it seems like the wrong path to take," said Elijah Birtel, co-owner/tattoo artist, Electric City Tattooing.
Parking meters in downtown Scranton are set to be enforced two additional hours into the night.
Paid parking on weekdays will now run until 7:00 p.m. instead of 5:00 p.m.
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Business owners and employees in the downtown square are expecting more headaches with these new changes.
"All my customers park on the street, a couple of my guys that work at the tattoo shop here park on the street. They're definitely no strangers to getting tickets; they get them pretty often," stated Birtel.
Along with the extended hours, drivers using a card or the Pango app can expect to see a new five percent processing fee.
Locals are not holding back their frustration with rising costs.
"Everybody's wages are down, costs of everything are up, including property tax. They just raised the property tax in the city, too. So, it's like, how many things are we going to raise the prices on before Scranton starts to really look empty or like a ghost town, you know," questioned Birtel.
"I feel like the entire economy is being affected by price raises right now, so it's kind of hard to say if it's just downtown. I feel like it's everywhere right now, which is really difficult on everyone," added Cecilia Finnerty, social media manager, Lavish Scranton.
Businesses now worry that customers might not want to bother with visiting downtown at all.
"We do get people calling, complaining that they have to street park in general, so I do think that having to pay those extra two hours will deter people a little bit from coming downtown later in the day," commented Finnerty.
"There's no free parking downtown. I mean, I used to know all the free parking spots, but they're gone at this point, so, they'll continue to pay because they want to or have to. What choice does anyone have, essentially," wondered Birtel.
Weekends are still free in the Electric City, but officials say the longer hours are part of a bond restructuring plan.
