Year: 2015

Election Day Information for Columbia Borough

Today is Election Day.
Voting hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Polling Locations in Columbia Borough
 Go HERE for more information.
Columbia School Borough Council Candidates
Go HERE for more information.
Columbia School Board Candidates
Go HERE for more information.
Information on candidates can be found by searching HERE.
Two candidates who shared information are Barry Ford and Kelly Murphy.
Information on ALL Columbia Borough Council candidates can be found HERE.

Judge to hear arguments over fish passage at Conowingo Dam

“Conflicts over fish passage date to the early 1800s, as canal companies began building dams along the river and its tributaries. Of particular concern was a wood-and-stone dam built in the 1830s near Columbia, PA, just 45 miles upstream from the Bay.
Complaints about its impact on shad spurred the Pennsylvania legislature to pass a law in 1866 requiring fishways at dams. But the fishways at that time proved largely ineffective. Some fish still managed to get upstream. The canal dams were relatively low, and some shad made it upstream as dams were breeched by ice flows or inundated by high springtime river flows.”

About Town

Happenings from around town today . . .

 Sealing the parking lot at Columbia Plaza

Replacing windows at Saint Peter Apartments . . .

Working on the Route 441 bypass project at Front and Walnut . . .

 A workman at Front and Walnut confirmed the two-week timetable for completion of the project.

LASA cleaning lines along Front Street . . .

Also . . .
 That’s correct. 
The Northwest River Trail is open only to the Route 30 (Wrights Ferry) Bridge, where it terminates in a chain-link cul-de-sac. 
Negotiations are currently underway to extend the trail.

 Wire sculptures a la Jeff Koons – and other artwork – displayed at The ARTS @ Hinkles 

 Finishing up

A new ADA-compliant section of sidewalk on the 100 block of Locust

Residents get bypass preview – Road to open in near future

Dozens of visitors enjoyed the Route 441 bypass walk-through this afternoon, and it’s been a long journey to the road’s completion.

According to Borough Councillor Jim Smith, PennDOT officials told the Columbia Business Alliance in 1990 that it would take 25 years for a bypass proposal to move up its project list and come to fruition. The goal was to eliminate truck traffic through town, after business leaders identified that as a major concern.  For decades, a continual barrage of trucks had rumbled through Columbia, following Route 441 to the lower end and points beyond. In the process, residents had routinely been disturbed, automobile traffic disrupted, and foundations of centuries-old historic buildings shaken.

In a year-2000 update, PennDOT said it would take 15 years for the project to continue up the docket – in line with its previous prediction.

Today, November 1, 2015, with only a week or so until completion, the project is essentially a reality.

“This is a good day for Columbia,” Smith said today.

Smith said the project gained momentum after State Senator Mike Brubaker and State Representative Dave Hickernell threw their weight behind it and helped make it a priority.

He added that others were also influential in seeing the project through: Lancaster County Commissioner Craig Lehman, former Columbia Borough Manager Norm Meiskey, Public Works Director Ron Miller, Council President Mike Beury, and several councillors, including Mary Barninger and Kelly Murphy.

Sometime in the future, a section of the Northwest River Trail running alongside the bypass will connect with the northern section running through Marietta and beyond.  Currently, county officials and LCSWMA are negotiating with Norfolk Southern for the tract of land between the two sections.

Council President Mike Beury and Councillor Jim Smith – two of the movers and shakers who helped make the Route 441 bypass a reality