Columbia council moves to make part of Walnut Street permanently one-way; Mayor's emergency declaration ratified

By Columbia Spy -

Borough Council on Monday ratified Mayor Lutz's emergency declaration making the 100 and 200 blocks of Walnut Street one-way, and took the first step toward making the change permanent.

The mayor told council at its October 13 meeting that the street, which is part of a recent streetscape project, would reopen in the near future. He said the borough's street ordinance needed to change "in order to ensure safe travel for motorists, safe travel for bicyclists and pedestrians."

In the meantime, he said, he issued an emergency declaration designating the two blocks as one-way.

Council also voted to authorize advertisement of Ordinance 2026-968, which would formally designate the 100 and 200 blocks of Walnut Street as one-way.  

Before the vote, Evan Gabel, borough solicitor,  noted that the draft's direction of travel had been switched from an earlier version. Gabel suggested the ordinance describe travel as running from Third Street to Front Street. "It gives you the impression it's going up," councilor Jeanne Cooper said, when the traffic would actually be going down. Council amended its motion to reflect that change and voted to approve. 

Because the ordinance cannot take effect until it has been advertised and given final approval, council also voted to ratify the mayor's emergency declaration to keep the one-way designation in place in the meantime.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Columbia's decision to ban former employee from its property may be 'unconstitutional' [Lancaster Watchdog]

By Columbia Spy -
Image
Chris Vera [Columbia Spy file photo] The following information is excerpted from a December 6, 2025 LNP Watchdog article by LNP | LancasterOnline reporter Jade Campos. Still reeling from an abrupt firing from his role as head of the Columbia Market House in March, Chris Vera was surprised to get a letter in the mail from a Columbia Borough attorney two weeks later telling him he was banned indefinitely from borough property. The letter gave no reason for the ban. Nine months later, Vera, who has served as president of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society for more than a decade and has helped with the borough’s comprehensive plan, is still banned from borough property. He believes the ban includes borough parks, which is part of the reason he moved his annual Albatwitch Day festival, which celebrates the myth of a local cryptid, to Wrightsville. Vera said he’s not sure why the borough went to such lengths to keep him away from public spaces given his termination from the borough s...
Read more

East Donegal man charged in Columbia hit & run

By Columbia Spy -
Image
NATHAN WILLISON | LNP Staff Writer An East Donegal Township man is facing criminal charges after police say he struck a 13-year-old with his truck and fled the scene last month.  Derek Scott Mohr, 28, is charged with causing an accident involving death or injury without a license, failing to stop to render aid, driving at an unsafe speed and related charges.  Mohr had been driving a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado through Chestnut Street in Columbia around 8 p.m. March 20 when he struck a 13-year-old boy riding a motorized scooter and continued driving, according to charging documents filed by police.  When police arrived, they found the boy with a broken leg and a cut to his forehead. His scooter was lying nearby, its handlebars completely snapped off.  Another teenager who witnessed what happened described the truck to police and said that the driver made no attempt to stop after striking the boy. Surveillance footage collected from the area shows the truck striking the b...
Read more

Mayor Lutz must accept responsibility

By Columbia Spy -
Image
  GUEST COMMENTARY [Name withheld by request out of fear of retaliation] For two decades, Leo Lutz has occupied the mayor's office in Columbia, and his supporters are quick to credit him with every positive development in our borough, but leadership is a two-way street. If Mayor Lutz is going to accept praise for Columbia's successes, many of which, frankly, he had little direct involvement in, then he must also be held accountable for our failures. The facts paint a troubling picture. Despite the mayor's repeated assurances that our streets are safe, we've witnessed a disturbing rise in assaults, shootings, and vandalism. His promises have fallen by the wayside: the foot patrol we were promised never materialized, nor did the bike patrol that was supposed to increase our sense of security. Fiscally, the situation is equally dire. Taxes have increased at least twice during Mayor Lutz's tenure, yet the borough now finds itself millions of dollars in debt. This isn...
Read more