Columbia Spy was surprised to learn that the women’s room at Columbia Crossing was once again locked today – at about 5:45 p.m., even though the men’s room was unlocked (as shown in the video above). A woman present (from out of town) had to use the men’s room, much the same as yesterday morning when the women’s room was locked but the men’s was not. It is our understanding that the restrooms are to be unlocked from dawn until dusk. (Yesterday morning, the Spy found an unattended handgun in the men’s room and contacted police.)
Also yesterday morning, two self-tapping screws, like the one shown above, were found outside the restrooms, as were numerous metal shavings (among the dead mayflies).
Evidently, card/fob readers were recently installed on the exterior of the restrooms. Shoddy workmanship is apparent, as with the abandoned screw hole and scratches in the paint shown in the photo above.
This door latch was also found outside the restrooms.
Columbia Borough needs to take a more proactive stance in addressing such problems at the Columbia Crossing building. Pick a plan for the restrooms, post a schedule, and stick with it. The discarded hardware was removed but should not have been left lying around in the first place. Finally, leaving the handgun lying around was irresponsible and unforgivable. It could quite easily have become an instrument of tragedy.
Columbia Spy 