SCRANTON, Pa. — Some parking in the Electric City is getting cheaper.
The Scranton Parking Authority announced the rate for garage parking will dip down to just $1 an hour for up to 10 hours.
Right now, it's $4 for the first hour, with bigger increases every hour.
The agency says it's lowering the rate to draw more people into the city to visit small businesses.
"It's a huge difference, one dollar parking per hour in our garages. I think more people will come downtown, not just for the holiday season, but year-round, knowing that they can park and have it be less of a financial burden," said Mayor Paige Cognetti.
But that isn't stopping Pizza By Papa's owner Thomas Shekoski from thinking about the boost in business he could see from more people choosing to use the garages.
"For a dollar an hour, you know, now I can shop, I can go have dinner somewhere, and I'm not gonna be spending thirty dollars on parking, and it's only going to be a few bucks instead of that," Shekoski said.
Bartari owner John Heim says that his customers rely heavily on the parking garage, which sits on top of his bar, especially when the city streets get busy.
"Drop down the elevator you are right here in front of our doorstep, but price was an issue for a lot of people, but now, with the parking garages being a dollar an hour, it's less of an excuse for people not to come downtown," Heim said.
Resident Sam Taylor says getting more people to use the parking garages will not only help businesses but offer more options than just parking out on the street.
"It's definitely easier to get downtown Scranton parking which, it's sometimes nice to park on the street; it's nice to have that option, but it's also nice to know that my car is safe parking in a garage," Taylor said.
Officials say the change will go into effect in December or January.
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