Pocono News Section

Scranton Launches Main Street Initiative

Scranton Launches Main Street Initiative - Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:13PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Thursday, Oct 22, 2009 @ 06:13pm EDT
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY - A new project kicked off Thursday to help revitalize downtown Scranton. The city launched the Main Street Initiative Project.

The program is completely volunteer driven. Nearly 100 people will join together to come up with different ways to help develop and promote Scranton businesses. Their goal is to get more people downtown.

Maureen Duffy has owned an accessories shop on Linden Street for 21 years. She's excited about the possibilities the Main Street program will bring to the city.

"There's a lot of new things happening and people aren't aware of it, so the more we can break out and tell them and be the messanger, that's what we're gonna do," Duffy said.

The project kicked off as volunteers formed five different committees. They talked about the projects that they want to focus on. Among the first things you'll see, a website and a class to help businesses improve their storefronts.

"This is such a huge designation for us, especially in the current economic time. I think every business needs as much help as they can get," Main Street manager Lisa Sauder said.

Scranton is just the latest city nationwide to become involved in the Main Street Program. Other areas like Stroudsburg, Jim Thorpe, Montrose and Easton already have seen success.

"The private sectors been convinced that its worth investing in downtown and when the private sector is convinced, the rest flows from there," Geoff Brace with PA Downtown Center said.

"A lot of communities view Main Street or other state programs as a way to get themselves out of problems. That is not the case. It should be a compliment to your successes," Mayor Chris Doherty said.

For McDuffy, she's already seen many of those successes and now looks forward to working with her neighbors to improve downtown Scranton.

"If they win, we all win. It's a group effort. It's not about one person winning. It's about the whole community," Duffy said.

Scranton Tomorrow is mangaing the project. They are always looking for volunteers.