Hikers on the Lancaster Junction Trail contacted Lookout to describe a scary crossing at Spooky Nook Road.
The scenic 2.3-mile trail runs on a former rail line, beginning at Route 283 near Salunga and close at Lancaster Junction, an old rail crossing at Warehouse and Auction roads. It is open to walkers, bicycle and horse riders and cross-country skiers.
The Watchdog recently hiked the tail and verified that the Spooky Nook crossing in East Hempfield Township is a bit dicey, largely due to a sharp cut in the route and a construction that houses Malmborg's florist shop that obstructs the thought of both drivers and hikers.
Walkers headed west on the trail, toward Salunga, cannot see vehicles traveling east as they cross Spooky Nook Road until the vehicles emerge from behind the construction and record a sharp right-hand curve.
And the drivers cannot see hikers until they are already in the curve, about 30 feet before the trail crossing.
Hikers headed east on the track have a potentially worse problem. While hikers on the westward slope of the cross can see farther up Spooky Nook Road and picking up an extra 20 feet of sight line, hikers on the east face of the crossing cannot see vehicles until they have cleared the construction and are about on top of the crossing.
Four signs - two for eastbound drivers and two for westbound ones -warn drivers of the crossing.
But the Watchdog noticed that neither the signs nor a painted trail marker on the roadway did much to dull the race of vehicles approaching the crossing, particularly those rounding the curve.
Lookout contacted both Paul Weiss, the county's Parks and Recreation Department administrator, and East Hempfield Township Manager Bob Krimmel to relay the hikers' concerns about the crossing.
If any form is done at the crossing, it would take to be undertaken in a concerted effort between the parks department and the township.
Krimmel said the town would be more than willing to discourse the position with the parks department.
And Weiss said he and the department's facilities management representative would call the situation this week to ascertain if anything else can be done to amend the crossing's safety.
Weiss said he would investigate the theory of erecting additional signs or installing mirrors to help hikers get a better thought of oncoming traffic.
He did mention that the move of the construction and the the route is not possible, which complicates the situation.
Properties demolished
Demolition is virtually over for two Columbia homes damaged in an October 2008 fire. The ruined houses were highlighted in Lancaster Lookout in December. The properties at 347-349 N. Second St. are being demolished at the borough's expense; the borough will charge a lien against the owners for the cost.
Borough Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Helm said if the owners do not pay the demolition costs, the borough will undertake legal minutes to take the vacant land. Helm said the property would "more than likely be transferred to a nonprofit agency" because the borough "cannot get into the patronage of soil development."
City conundrum
A resident wanted to recognise why the City of Lancaster is spending money to cross streets, even though dozens of snow make it unacceptable for the machines to get near to curbs or cleared parking spots.
Turns out the metropolis has no choice. It's fulfilling mandates issued by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection.
City Public Works Director Charlotte Katzenmoyer explained via e-mail that the discharge permit necessary to control the city's wastewater treatment system "requires that we cross our streets to remove litter and anything else that might get into our combined organization and overflow into the Conestoga River. This necessity of DEP and EPA does not go out because of the season."
Katzenmoyer said she completed the sweepers cannot get all of the litter due to the snow piles, but added, "We want to do this for the environment, especially with the increased scrutiny we are under due to the [Chesapeake] Bay initiatives.
"We actually have no justification to excuse to EPA why we cannot do this when they do and audit us - which they do frequently."
More third-party phone billing
The Watchdog received more than 60 e-mail and voice messages from people scammed by third-party phone-bill charges and thanks everyone for responding. We are investigating what can be done to halt these practices, and we're still seeking calls or e-mails from people who have been impacted by third-party charges.
In the interim, the stern note is this: Check your telephone bills. Some people might be making money from others who just aren't paying attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment