COLUMBIA SPY

The Veterans Memorial Bridge The public is invited to ask questions and offer input on the Veterans Memorial Bridge Rehabilitation Project at a meeting on March 18, 3-8 p.m. at the District Administration Center, 200 North 5th Street. The bridge project, which was to have begun this year, has been given a new start date of 2023. The meeting is intended to be a fairly informal, "drop-in" affair with borough officials and PennDOT representatives. Columbia Spy posted the following information about the project on March 19, 2018, some of which may have changed in the interim: The $54-60 million reconstruction and rehabilitation project will include a refurbished deck with an 8-foot-wide walking lane, two 8-foot bicycle lanes (on the north and south sides), and two 9-foot traffic lanes in the center. The narrower traffic lanes will be a deterrent for speeders, Lutz said. All lanes will be separated with white traffic lines.  Additional construction will bring the b...

PHILADELPHIA — Up by five points at the end of the first quarter, Columbia committed six turnovers in a second quarter where opponent School of the Future went on a 17-0 run. Future kept its foot on the gas in the third quarter en route to an eventual 71-46 win Saturday afternoon in a PIAA Class 3A boys basketball first round playoff matchup inside South Philadelphia High School. MORE: https://lancasteronline.com/sports/columbia-boys-basketball-season-ends-with-first-round-state-playoff/article_80e597f2-60bd-11ea-8e57-f77c1f46adca.html?utm_medium  

Lauren VonStetten, chair of the extracurricular committee, reported parental concerns over "nonstop" foot traffic at the Crimson Tide's home basketball games. Because both bleachers in the high school gymnasium were built in close proximity to the basketball court, spectators regularly wander onto the court, causing either a referee stoppage or other safety issues. To solve this problem, the district will consider using baseline attendants to monitor and police spectators who enter or exit the stands during play. MORE: https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/attendants-may-direct-spectator-traffic-during-columbia-district-basketball-games/article_562ac4a8-6174-11ea-a67d-6f48788a2b5f.html?utm_medium  

The 14-mile Northwest Lancaster County River Trail along the Susquehanna River has been tremendously popular since it opened in 2014. And for good reason. It's a beautiful path along the river with such varied attractions as Chickies Rock, the White Cliffs of Conoy, remnants of great iron furnaces, canal locks, an eagle nest and the river towns of Columbia and Marietta. Now, trail users — 120,000 last year — can have a fuller experience with the publication this week of "Geologic Guide to the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail" by Jeri Jones, a York County geologist who loves to share his passion with the public. MORE: https://lancasteronline.com/sports/outdoors/new-geological-guide-to-northwest-river-trail-offers-hikers-a/article_919f8418-5f23-11ea-9455-d76be025eb58.html?utm_medium  

Columbia Spy previously published  this article on December 9, 2019, before the Market House renovation began. It is published here again, because it sheds light on some the recent issues with the project. The author is a taxpaying Columbia Borough resident, whose name is being withheld by request. The question at hand is whether a 2.0-2.5 million dollar investment in the oldest market house in Lancaster County, with its original detail still intact from the day it was built in 1869, will bring about the economic outcome the current borough council envisions. Through a partnership with a local charity, they propose to create a restaurant, new bathrooms, and 20 market stands along with all new mechanical systems including a massive heating and air conditioning system. In the end, will this project simply be another huge expense of borrowed taxpayer money that will ultimately fail to generate enough money to pay for the operation and maintenance of the facility long term...