Dickson City receives $1.5M for Main Street revitalization, bringing end in sight for yearslong project

Standing near the corner of Main and Dundaff streets, Ray Abaza pushed off on his skateboard, speeding down the sidewalk and up a concrete ramp, popping his board over a railing and dropping to the ground below.

The 23-year-old from Queens, New York, joined John Shanahan — a professional skateboarder from East Stroudsburg — and filmers as they scouted the area for spots to skate, stopping on the 1000 block of Main Street where Lackawanna County installed new sidewalks in 2021 as part of a project to improve traffic flow along Main Street.

“It’s pretty cool,” Shanahan, 28, said of Main Street, noting the redone sidewalks. “There’s some unique architecture.”

With the help of a new $1.5 million federal Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside grant, Dickson City expects to hit its goal of continuing those new sidewalks, plus a slew of other improvements, more than half a mile along Main Street as part of its yearslong, multimillion-dollar Main Street revitalization project.

The federal funding will cover the third phase of Dickson City’s streetscape plans for Main Street spanning from Jermyn Street to Dundaff Street, according to the state Department of Transportation. The grant also includes installing a concrete sidewalk along Enterprise Street, according to PennDOT.

Dickson City’s Main Street revitalization plans, which ultimately span from Hallstead Street to Dundaff Street before shifting to Boulevard Avenue, include new sidewalks, new street lights with decorative lamp posts, new crosswalks, benches, planters with trees and new trash receptacles, borough Manager Cesare Forconi said.

The borough broke the project into four phases:

Phase one — Hallstead Street to about half a block short of Jackson Street.

Phase two — Phase one’s stopping point to near Jermyn Street, plus adding a bike lane down Enterprise Street.

Phase three — Jermyn Street to Dundaff Street.

Phase four — Boulevard Avenue from Main Street to Enterprise Street.

Forconi estimates phase one is about 95% complete, with remaining work including redoing some trees and “some little odds and ends.” The borough largely completed phase one last year.

“I think it really makes a difference when you drive through town,” Forconi said. “It’s so much brighter.”

Council President Jeff Kovaleski has consistently aimed to complete the revitalization by 2030, and with the new funding secured, he is optimistic the project will conclude on time.

Both Kovaleski and Forconi said the borough will put phase two out to bid this year and start construction next year. Kovaleski said he would love to complete phase two in 2025, though it could bleed into 2026.

Dickson City will put phase three out to bid in 2025 in hopes of completing it in 2026, Kovaleski and Forconi said.

Now that phase three is funded, the borough also will work to secure grant money for phase four, Kovaleski said.

Kovaleski estimates the entire project will cost $4.5 million to $5 million.

The borough wants the revitalization to attract more mom-and-pop shops as the town juggles essentially having two Main Streets — its actual Main Street and Business Route 6, Kovaleski said.

“The one up on Route 6 we know flourishes with all the businesses that are up there,” he said. “We just want to have a different feel down in the town.”

So far, all of the feedback has been positive regarding phase one’s improvements, notably the new LED lights, Kovaleski said.

“Everybody said it’s a beautiful enhancement to the downtown,” he said. “The lights truly make it feel safe in the evening hours.”