SCRANTON, Pa. — First Fridays in downtown Scranton are something some business owners look forward to. Now, even more so after Scranton City Council voted against increasing paid parking hours on weekdays and charging for parking on Saturdays.

“That’s good, that’s good for the businesses on Adams Ave,” said Tom Hopkins, one of the owners of Bazaar Skate Shop.

“It’s really good that they overturned it,” said Shawn Ramey, a barber at Loyalty Barbershop.

“I think that would really help us only because people like to park on the street,” said Ty Snyder, operational manager at Scranton Art Haus.

“It’s a nice relief right now, and I hope that it feels good for a while,” said Theresa O’Connor, gallery director at AFA Gallery.

First Fridays draw a lot of people into downtown Scranton, people who need a place to park. A business like Scranton Art Haus uses First Friday as a way to draw in people who may have come into the city.

“Our business, we do a lot of things, we do vendors fairs, we have art show cases here, we have karaoke, we have live music, and without that interaction in the street, there could be less people coming into First Friday for us and for many,” said Snyder.

The AFA Gallery uses First Friday as a way to showcase art for free.

“We always have an opening either on a Friday or a first Friday of the month,” said O’Connor. “We usually have 150 to 200 people in the door, so it’s our most attended event.”

Before the city council vote, the AFA Gallery was worried the increase in parking costs would lead to a decrease in First Friday attendance. After the vote, O’Connor feels differently.

“For now, we don’t have that fear, it’s always a question whether or not parking could be affected, or other things could be affected in our city to lose ability to get art to the public,” said O’Connor.

The next city council meeting is on Tuesday, and council members will be discussing whether the hourly rate for street parking will increase.