How do you want to see Scranton move forward? (Pittsburgh: hotels, houses)

[loveinbloom]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I'd personally like to see the following:

-Significant reduction of the wage tax AND mercantile tax that would be funded through two new revenue streams---a 1% city sales tax on non-essential purchases less than $10,000 and an amusement tax, both of which would more fairly leverage a financial burden across everyone who patronizes the city, not just burdened homeowners. It would also be financed through deep administrative cuts, the end of "pay-for-play" politics (i.e. no-bid contracts), and other cost-cutting measures (i.e. turning down the heat or A/C and telling people to adjust their attire accordingly, changing incandescent bulbs over to CFLs, investigating replacing bulky city-owned SUVs with Honda Civic hybrids and/or Toyota Corollas, etc.)

-Construction of a new minor-league stadium for the Yankees in or near Downtown Scranton at some point in the 2010s.

-Continued fostering of downtown housing. As the downtown continues to become more attractive and livable, prices will escalate, forcing people who want to live near downtown but are priced out to consider purchasing run-down homes in the Lower Hill, Pinebrook, parts of South Side, and Hyde Park, renovate them, and become productive members of those neighborhoods bordering downtown. The more foot traffic the downtown has, the easier it will be to sustain commerce and to encourage entrepreneurs to come to the city's core.

-Aggressive pursuance of grants to finance new streetscapes along busy corridors, including Main Avenue in Hyde Park, Pittston/Cedar Avenues in South Side, Mulberry Street in The Hill, and Green Ridge Street, along with the Downtown, of course. New concrete sidewalks would be poured, period street lights would be installed with room for hanging baskets, seasonal wreaths, and "Welcome to ______ (insert neighborhood name there) banners (that could be sponsored by businesses to generate more revenue for the city), brick crosswalks, benches, etc. Make the city more attractive for pedestrians, and businesses will benefit.

-Host more annual festivals, especially ones celebrating ethnic heritages, and make them so that alcohol is NOT a priority for a change to encourage family-friendliness.

As stated above he wage and merchantile tax must be lowered so the city can compete with nearby communities. Payment in Lieu of taxes must be changed...140K from the university is crazy with the amount of land and buildings that they have and for use of city services. A massive reduction in top heavy city management...essential services/rebuilding of infrastracutre done prior to any more expense "window dressing" (ie Nay Aug park, dog park, new schools, new libraries). Take care of what the city already has before big, better, newer and more costly projects are undertaken. I firmly believe in retro fitting exsisting structures instead of moving and building new ones. We must learn to honor, respect and maintain buildings that give the city a distinctive look.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by loveinbloom

I firmly believe in retro fitting exsisting structures instead of moving and building new ones. We must learn to honor, respect and maintain buildings that give the city a distinctive look.

To that extent we have to change the way many people in Scranton behave and think. How many in Scranton will drive right by a mom-and-pop store in their own neighborhood that carries something they want as they instead head on down to the Shoppes at Montage or up to Dickson City, spending their hard-earned dollars outside of the city limits? I know Ed, for one, says he avoids the downtown at all costs, and I'm inclined to think that many of my fellow Brixx patrons yesterday were suburbanites.

[blip]

These threads get a little redundant, so I'll mostly just say that I'm down with all of ScranBarre's points above. Only things I'd add:

- To his point about the commercial corridors I'd add connecting the dots between these corridors and downtown. Most of them are close to downtown but have big barriers (bridges, bad sidewalks, empty lots, dead university blocks) blocking them off, which help disrupt commerce and break up the city fabric.

- More focus on historic preservation, whether it's commercial buildings downtown or residential buildings around town. Pursue state, federal, and private grants for buildings and/or districts. Also, preserve the streetscape via zoning-- ripping down street-facing buildings and replacing them with strip malls set 100 ft back just encourages the emptying out of a neighborhood. This town has some good architecture and could be steered towards a bit more charm with just a little effort.

- If remotely possible, wrest control of courthouse square from the county so that the city can rebuild it as more of an urban public square and not an inhospitable collection of ugly monuments. Use it for events, e.g. the christmas lights display, farmers markets, music on first fridays in summer, etc.

[NYRangers 2008]

Those are all good things to move the city forward, they're just never going to happen under Doherty.

The reason I avoid the downtown, except occasionally to go to the mall, is because of the horrible roads and there's nothing really there of interest to me. It's much easier for me to drive to Dickson City than to drive down there and get myself angry. Especially when Doherty says it's booming down there and I just don't see it.

[Magritte25]

I'm from Wilkes-Barre. We go up to Scranton when we want a change of pace. *I* think that the mall/train area is a stroke of genius. The kids love to see the trains and the play place in the mall food court is great, free fun for them. Of course, we end up buying lunch there which is great for the businesses there.

I will say that I like the Wyoming Valley Mall better - something about it's layout is more...friendly? I guess. But Steamtown has things the Wyoming Valley Mall doesn't have.

I also think that Scranton's downtown feels more vibrant and busy as opposed to Wilkes-Barre's Public Square.

[Magritte25]

Oh and McDade Park is a wonderful asset to the Scranton area at large.

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Oh and McDade Park is a wonderful asset to the Scranton area at large.

I agree. McDade is much better than Nay Aug because it's run by the county, not the city.

[The-Electric-City]

I agree with ScranBarre on the new minor-league stadium. Our stadium is already outdated.

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by The-Electric-City

I agree with ScranBarre on the new minor-league stadium. Our stadium is already outdated.

I don't think it would be a good idea to put a stadium downtown or anywhere in the city. It would create a traffic nightmare. And who's going to foot the bill for this one, the taxpayers? The citizens of Scranton have enough of a tax burden, they don't need anymore.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by NYRangers 2008

I don't think it would be a good idea to put a stadium downtown or anywhere in the city. It would create a traffic nightmare. And who's going to foot the bill for this one, the taxpayers? The citizens of Scranton have enough of a tax burden, they don't need anymore.

A "traffic nightmare" on a few evenings a week would be a good thing to help spur nearby business growth. The stadium could have an attached garage for parking, and there should be a small visitors' kiosk of sorts right in front of the turnstiles with all sorts of pamphlets, brochures, menus, etc. from city businesses. Some Yankees players could do "meet-and-greets" on occasion at places like Poor Richard's, Kildare's, Andy Gavin's, etc. Pittsburgh, in many ways "Scranton on steroids," has TWO stadiums adjacent to its downtown core, and that most certainly hasn't detrimentally impacted that area.