Park & walk: Easy ways to get to river

WILKES-BARRE – I can see it now, and it’s going to be great: spectacular blinking light shows along River Street, breezy lunches on the levee, concerts at sunset with the Susquehanna River gently rolling in the background.

But first, since parking was purposefully omitted from the River Common, water enthusiasts will have to brave the downtown urban jungle to get there.

This is as good a time as any to mention a few cheats. Bicyclists need not fiddle with parking spaces and therefore may go straight to the waterfront park, while motorists who ditch their rides in Kirby or Nesbitt parks simply must traverse the Market Street Bridge. The lot across River Street from the County Courthouse is available whenever the courthouse is closed, and the Courthouse Square Towers Parkade just north of the Veterans Memorial Bridge is also a short walk from the new park.

Everyone else, however, must trek from lots and street parking sprinkled throughout the city – an ordeal created by design. “The intent of all of this is to have people park downtown in the existing parking lots and hopefully take advantage of the restaurants and other activities in town before they come to the riverfront,” said Jim Brozena, the executive director of the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority.

Now, I’ve heard more than a few people complain about the downtown’s issues, from safety concerns to an unpleasant aesthetic replete with empty shop windows and drunken hooligans. But before chalking Brozena’s idea right up there with U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski’s Cornerstone boondoggle on the list of Taxpayer-Funded Attempts at Economic Improvement that Backfired, let’s take a walk through town and see if all this nay-saying is justified.

Start at the Park & Lock East at 15 N. Washington St.; it’s probably the farthest away from the river that any daytripper to the waterfront is likely to park. Even here, though, the journey is joyously uncomplicated and brief. Step out onto Market Street, stop at the Tasty Chinese Buffet for some Szechuan shrimp to go and head toward Public Square. (Hint: if vehicles are going only one direction, you’re still on Washington Street. Follow traffic to the intersection and turn right.)

Any time of day, the Square can be an adventure, from the all-stop-all-go, car-race feel of the traffic-signal timing to the various personalities on display. Arrive on a Thursday from June 25 into November to experience the sights, sounds and smells of the Farmers’ Market. No need to buy any food now (you did just stop at the Chinese buffet, right?), but pick up some produce on the way home.

After the Square, it’s just two breezy blocks to the river, though River Street can be like a never-ending drag race. A brief aside: that’s supposed to change. Plans call for River Street to eventually become one lane in each direction with a raised median containing trees and plants dividing the lanes. Brozena believes that will make the riverfront more inviting by slowing down and reducing traffic.

With nearly 6,000 spaces on the streets and in the lots and garages downtown, according to the Wilkes-Barre Parking Authority, there are plenty of other places to park.

Three other parking authority-owned garages exist at 53 S. Main St. across from the Thai Thai restaurant, 30 N. Main St. next to the Ramada Inn and 18 E. Northampton St. at R/C Movies 14. Stay past 8 p.m., and the parking is free.

There are two surface lots which offer paid parking during the daytime, one on Northampton street across from the movie theater; the other, down the street across from the YMCA. These lots offer free parking during evening hours.

Boscov’s and Citizens Bank each operate garages in their buildings, which are accessed from Franklin Street.

The Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry is creating a lot behind Irem Temple on North Franklin Street, but Brozena said it will be commandeered for VIPs during the River Common’s dedication ceremony on June 19.

That evening also happens to be the Arts YOUniverse’s first 3rd Friday ArtWalk of the season.

Say it’s a nice day and everyone descends on the downtown – could it run out of parking? “I hope we do,” says Brozena, but he’s just being ambitious rather than malicious because more is always better. “We’re working with the (Luzerne County) Transportation Authority to have a shuttle running downtown. … We’ve anticipated as much as we can until we see how it works.”

OPENING SCHEDULE

The River Common will be dedicated at 4 p.m. on Friday. The ceremony will be followed by music performances, and kayak and fishing demonstrations. The 3rd Friday ArtWalk in downtown Wilkes-Barre also takes place that evening.

Wyoming Valley Riverfest will take place from 12:30-9 p.m. on Saturday at both River Common and Nesbitt Park. There will be children’s field games, a bicycle safety program, fly tying demonstration, nature walks and many other activities as well as music starting at noon.

For more information, visit www.rivercommon.org or www.wvwc.org.