From the Columbia Borough Fall/Winter 2013 Newsletter
There it is in black and white:
Shovel your sidewalk. At least three feet in width. Don't throw the snow into the street after the street has been plowed.
Up to $600 fine plus costs possible for non-compliance.
No parking at designated times, even if the sweeper is not running.
Comments
What a joke. Name one other town in this whole state that runs street sweepers WEEKLY on ALL streets. Even Lancaster City doesn't. A real pain for people that work during 2nd or 3rd shifts and have to move their cars when the stupid thing only runs every 3 weeks on average.
I say let's send the street sweeper to Sahd's for scrapping. Who's with me?
--FMB
Meters are for places with visitors coming and going to conduct business (and collect revenue from those people that are mostly forced to come). But downtown Columbia is dead. Downtown most places are dead. Ample free (in a sense) parking at malls and suburban stores works better. Stupid and expensive parking regulations that serve no purpose have helped kill downtowns. This is the automobile age... either adapt or step aside.
No sense for meters anymore.
--FMB
.As to "downtown Columbia being dead, you're dead wrong about this. Business in Columbia is growing quite rapidly. Just for example, stop by Burning Bridge on any given Saturday or Sunday mid afternoon, or the State Theater, or Tollbooth Antiques, etc., etc.. These places are much busier then they were three, two, and even one year ago and it's very obvious.
Meters and parking tickets should also be at least double in price from what they are now. It's a joke to get 30 minutes for a quarter. 10 or 15 is the norm.
But to your examples - Burning bridge has their own lot. So does tollbooth and the place in the tobacco warehouse behind Columbia #1. See a pattern developing? I know many planners love to espouse TODs and walking cities, but those people are a long ways away from reality.
Downtown Columbia is DEAD. Ding, dong, put a fork in it, that's all folks! And the problem will not be fixed until we accept the fact. A few antique shops will not save the town. If it did, then every town would be saved because that's all any of them have anymore.
--FMB
The antique industry can save a town, and has jump started many including Columbia. Look at towns such as New Hope PA, Farmersville Virginia, etc.
Columbia is now known in the industry as being the best destination in the Central Penn area for wholesale and retail antique purchases, and we have more then " a few shops" I imagine that there are now over 500 vendors between all of the antique Malls, and five years ago there were less then 50 !
If you are seeing the growth, I imagine that you have not taken a stroll through the various antique markets lately on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon ?
Downtown Columbia my friend, is on the rise !, Less then five years from now the rental price on downtown store fronts will be triple what it is today - and no one will mind plugging meters with pocket change !
--FMB
--FMB
i do think the Antiques is a big plus for downtown and also the Historic Museum is doing great things too!!