DICKSON CITY, Pa. — Water rushing over the curb and pooling into a nearby parking lot just off Commerce Boulevard in Dickson City has been a problem area Giles Lemoncelli says has been going on way to long.
"How can that happen? How can this occur? This has been going on; this is a situation where something has to be done," said Giles Lemoncelli.
This isn't the first time this section of Commerce Boulevard shut down due to excessive flooding.
Because of the Labor Day rain, several business entrances and exits were blocked off.
With roads closed to flooding and nowhere else to go, shoppers in Dickson City have been stuck in stand-still traffic, some for more than three hours.
"I checked out at 12:48 p.m., so three hours. No, this is crazy. This is worse than black Friday," said Christina Lynady of Scranton.
Lynady could not have anticipated how long she'd be stuck in the Target parking lot with her two children in the back seat.
A short shopping trip for a couple of items quickly turned into a battle to keep her spot in the slow-moving line of cars.
"I feel terrible. They are starving. They've had to use the bathroom. I've had to send them in alone because I was afraid to leave my vehicle or get out of line," said Lynady.
Lemoncelli had been stuck in traffic between Target and the Walmart supercenter for more than an hour. The situation got so bad that he made a call to the police.
"I just called 911. You know what the operator told me? They are someplace else. You get elderly people out here; how long can they be in a vehicle, one, two hours, three hours? It's a shame," said Lemoncelli.
Plans are in place for a drainage fix to Commerce Boulevard beginning in October to dry up 'Lake Commerce,' as it has become known, for good.
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