Our friends at the Times ~ Tribune did a Monday story, updating Scranton's "pocket park" project. To quickly get you up to speed, a dry cleaner at Wyoming and Linden was torn down several years ago. No one really wanted the land, so the city and Scranton Tomorrow decided on a small park for the site. Great idea! Every downtown needs green space, even though Courthouse Square is only a block away.
Here is the "defies analysis" part. This project started four years ago, and it won't be finished until the summer of 2022! That's five years for a patch of grass the size of a small building.
That's Scranton.
Granted, tons of contaminated soil here had to be removed, but five years for grass, sidewalks, benches, a pavilion, some lights, and maybe a performance area? Really?
The downtown pocket park isn't alone. How many years is it taking to replace the Parker St. bridge over the Lackawanna River. It's been down to one lane for years, and a new bridge is still years away from becoming a reality.
I do realize and understand that things need to be studied and options considered. Let's do it once and do it right.
But years?
