Scranton plans $1M upgrade to 16-acre Connell Park in South Side
SCRANTON — The city plans a $1.1million upgrade next year to 16-acre Connell Park in South Side, the mayor recently announced.
Improvements to the park at 800 Gibbons St. and South Webster Avenue would include a new wellness loop trail, biking and hiking trails, a new playground, upgrades to the dog park there and various accessibility improvements.
Scranton City Council on March 4 unanimously introduced a resolution authorizing the city to contract with Greenman-Pedersen Inc. of Moosic for up to $105,590 for engineering and design of improvements to Connell Park. The contract covers design and construction oversight, and the city expects work on upgrades to begin in 2026.
The resolution is on council's agenda for its meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall for a vote on adoption.
Meanwhile, renovations to Connell Park's swimming pool area that began last year, funded by federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars, remain ongoing and should be completed in time for the 2025 summer swim season, Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said in the March 4 announcement.
'Our investment into our parks continues and we are excited about the potential Connell Park holds through our planned renovation project,' Cognetti said. 'As we prepare to reopen the Connell Park pool this summer, we're updating features that will make this a multigenerational attraction in South Scranton.'
The Connell Park rehabilitation project is funded in part by a $381,594 grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program and a $149,400 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Community Conservation Partnerships Program. The city will match the total $530,994 in grant awards with federal Community Development Block Grant funds.
While the city describes Connell Park as nearly 16 acres, a site development report from 2021 says the park encompasses 20.4 acres. One section of the park contains a sloped woodsy area.
Situated on higher ground, Connell Park offers views of West Mountain across the city.
Some of Connell Park's facets are unique in the city's park system.
Connell Park currently has Scranton's only dog park. This canine run area has two separate fenced-in sections, including one for larger dogs over 30 pounds and an adjacent one for smaller dogs under 30 pounds. The city plans to eventually put the city's second dog park on a lot at Albright Avenue and Marion Street, next to the redeveloped Lace Village at the former Scranton Lace factory complex.
Connell Park also has the city's only bicycle 'pump track,' built in 2021. Pump tracks feature a series of small hills in a loop for bicycle riders to generate momentum with body movements, by pushing down and pulling up on their bikes.
The Anthracite Bicycle Coalition also uses the former concession stand building at Connell Park for the first bicycle cooperative in the city, called Cycle Kitchen. It provides used bikes to new owners and provides space, tools and guidance for recipients to fix their bikes.
The coalition in May held a grand opening of the Cycle Kitchen, which overlooks the pump track. The city last year put a new roof on the Cycle Kitchen building, said Anthracite Bicycle Coalition board President Gene McDonough. He looks forward to the city's revitalization of Connell Park.
'It is a great thing. It ties into everything we are doing' at Connell Park, McDonough said.
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A plaque dated 2006 on a stone at Connell Park in South Scranton on Monday, March 10, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The small dog park area at Connell Park in South Scranton on Monday, March 10, 2025. The dog park area has two fenced-in sections, including one for larger dogs over 30 pounds and one for smaller dogs under 30 pounds. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Dogs mingle at the dog park at Connell Park in South Scranton on Monday, March 10, 2025. The dog park area has two fenced-in sections, including one for larger dogs over 30 pounds and one for smaller dogs under 30 pounds. The dogs here are separated by a fence between the two sections. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The swimming pool area under renovation at Connell Park in South Scranton on Monday, March 10, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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A plaque on a flagpole base dated 1949 at Connell Park in South Scranton on Monday, March 10, 2025. A fenced dog park section is in the background. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The swimming pool area under renovation at Connell Park in South Scranton on Monday, March 10, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The Anthracite Bicycle Coalition's Cycle Kitchen bike workshop at a former concession stand at Connell Park in Scranton on Monday, March 10, 2025.
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A plaque dated 2006 on a stone at Connell Park in South Scranton on Monday, March 10, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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An aerial view of Connell Park in Scranton Monday, March 10, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Mark Dryden, of Moosic, plays fetch with his dogs Huckleberry and Liam at the dog park located in Connell Park in Scranton Monday, March 10, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Claudio Robles, of Scranton, pushes his children Cameron, 3, and Camila, 6, on the swings at Connell Park in Scranton Monday, March 10, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Jaelyn Munoz, 9 , of Scranton, hangs from the monkey bars at the Connell Park playground in Scranton Monday, March 10, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)A slide is broken in the center at Connell Park in Scranton Monday, March 10, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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