SCRANTON — The city aims to assist Lackawanna College in opening a new driveway in the 500 block of Wyoming Avenue for the school’s proposed Center for Technology Innovation.
Scranton City Council recently introduced and advanced an ordinance from Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti to create a no-parking zone on the east side of Wyoming Avenue for a distance of 370 feet from Olive Street, to accommodate a driveway that the college proposes for its eventual Center for Technology Innovation.
A no-parking zone there is required to allow for safe sight distances on either side of the proposed driveway for the building to be constructed around the middle of the block, according to the legislation.
Council unanimously introduced the ordinance June 10 and advanced it on second reading June 17. The ordinance likely would come back for a third-reading vote on adoption at council’s next regular weekly meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
The college plans to construct a two-story, 16,000-square-foot Center for Technology Innovation at 518-520 Wyoming Ave.
The new facility also would house a 4,500-square-foot Advanced Automotive/Electric Vehicle, Robotics and Cybersecurity space for programs that would include both associate degrees and shorter-term training options.
A new building also would have an auto lab with car lifts and electric vehicle equipment, large labs specifically designed for robotics and automation equipment, and computer labs for the cyber security program.
Earlier this year, the college bought the Able Brake building right next door to the gravel lot where the new building will be constructed. The city Zoning Board approved a variance involving a front setback to allow for the facility to be built closer to Wyoming Avenue, to allow for better stormwater conveyance in the rear of the lot along an embankment of Forest Court.