SCRANTON, Pa. -- Downtown Scranton's only free parking garage will no longer be free come Monday, but there are some exceptions for the garage at The Marketplace at Steamtown.
If you visit The Marketplace at Steamtown in Scranton you may spend a few minutes trying to find a spot, but once you're in the marketplace, sometimes the crowd inside doesn't match the crowded parking lot.
"When I go upstairs its empty, basically, empty the whole time."
Last fall, Scranton's parking company ABM installed new ticket machines at the entrances and exits to the garage and pay stations were placed throughout the marketplace.
But, it took months for the city, which leases the garage, and the marketplace to come to an agreement on who will pay, how, and how much.
"Even pulling in here, you're waiting behind people for quite a little bit because they stop and they're not really sure what to do currently," said Jessica Bono, Center City Wine Cellar
Starting Monday, the arms on the ticket machines will be going up and down and there will be a charge for anyone who uses the garage but doesn't use the marketplace.
"I think it's going to be good to generate some revenue. I think the problem is that they have this asset here that the city is essentially renting it out and they can generate revenue for the city. I know that they'll probably be able to put that back into different things," said Cassidy Miller, CC Cleaning.
Shoppers will be able to come to a guest services counter in the center of the marketplace but there's a number of businesses that will have their own validation machines.
"The first thing you need to know is that if you're coming in and out really quick, 30 minutes, no validation is necessary. There's a 30-minute validation grace period. Then, after that, you can be validated at one of our participating stores that are validating, like Boscov's or Bee's Backyard, or Crunch Gym, LCC is also validating," said Jennifer Warnetsky, The Marketplace at Steamtown.
According to ABM, Marketplace shoppers will be able to park free with validation for up to three hours.
Marketplace owner John Basalyga said marketplace patrons will be able to get their tickets validated after any length of time.