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Basketball Tournament, Construction Tie Up Traffic in Downtown Scranton

SCRANTON, Pa. — A tradition in Lackawanna County kicked off Friday afternoon. Hundreds of kids are taking part in this year’s Lackawanna County 3-on...

SCRANTON, Pa. -- A tradition in Lackawanna County kicked off Friday afternoon. Hundreds of kids are taking part in this year's Lackawanna County 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

Two blocks of Wyoming Avenue in downtown Scranton have transformed into a basketball court for the weekend.

The Lackawanna County 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is underway. But so is roadwork creating a traffic nightmare for drivers.

"Today was horrific. There's traffic everywhere. I get off the exit to try to find parking, and I drove in circles, circles, circles. I end up finding parking like three or four blocks away and it took me longer to find parking than it did for me to be here to do what I have to do, so it's just ridiculous," said Chris Banks.

Wyoming Avenue from Linden Street to Lackawanna Avenue is blocked off. So is part of Penn Avenue and part of Spruce Street.

If you thought driving through Scranton this weekend was going to be a slam dunk -- prepare to be boxed out.

Damoes Wilson encountered a jam on Spruce Street when he drove to Scranton from Moscow for his lunch break.

"It's all around here. the highway, I guess they want to block everything up around here, I don't know," Wilson said.

But their traffic woes are being endured for a worthy cause. The basketball tournament is also a fundraiser for the local chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer.

Representatives from Lackawanna County's drug and alcohol programs will also be on hand this weekend to inform the kids of the dangers of substance abuse.

Rick Notari has been involved in the tournament for at least a decade. He's not worried about the roads this weekend.

"Scranton's an easy town to get around if you know where you're going, so just follow the directions, follow the signs, people won't have any problems. We have a lot of parking lots down here for people to go. Scranton's a very walkable city, so I think that's what people need to realize and to have some patience," Notari said.

And if you find yourself losing patience, you can take comfort in this idea.

"It can't get any worse than this!"

The tournament continues into Saturday and Sunday, if necessary, with 75 teams and about 325 players participating. Games will run Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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