Residents urged the borough on Sept. 23 to seek more information and mitigation plans from Lancaster City and Lancaster Water Company for a planned project on Manor Street, saying the work will disrupt the main bus route and could affect access to the volunteer firehouse.

Mary Wickenheiser, speaking during public comment, said Manor Street is "the bus route in and out of this borough" and serves Wagon Works, Trinity House and St. Peter's, and urged the borough to ask Lancaster City whether the utility had examined alternatives to tearing up Manor Street. "Is Lancaster going to hold a meeting with the residents of that area? Let them know what's happening," she asked.

Council members and borough staff said they have received similar public comments and described plans to request timelines and resurfacing commitments from Lancaster City. "We wanna know the timelines, how they're gonna do it, how they're gonna... resurface both lanes of travel," a council member said. Council President Zink and staff agreed to seek a meeting with neighboring municipalities and Lancaster City to discuss construction sequencing and temporary traffic plans, and suggested hosting a public review of construction prints, possibly at the firehouse.

Residents raised specific public-safety concerns about the volunteer fire company’s access during construction. Wickenheiser said volunteers often arrive from many directions and sometimes on foot with personal gear; she asked whether a lane would be kept open during work. Borough officials said they would press for protections and for information on how the contractor plans to maintain access during work.

Why it matters: Manor Street is a primary transportation corridor in and out of Columbia; prolonged or poorly managed construction there could disrupt transit service, residents’ access to services, and emergency response. Council members pledged to pursue coordination with Lancaster City and to try to arrange a public meeting before final design is approved.

Meeting context: This issue was raised during the citizen non-agenda comment period; council and staff responded and said they would work to convene municipal partners and Lancaster City and to publish timelines and design prints to inform affected residents.