The Watchdog revisits Fulton Street issue and checks in on plans for former Huber's market [Lancaster Watchdog]

This week, the Watchdog is checking up on recent items.

First, we revisit Lancaster city resident Eric Janes, who lives on East Fulton Street.

He’s been concerned that his two-way street does not have sidewalks and that some motorists speed down the block between North Lime and North Shippen streets.

Earlier this year, the city denied Janes’ request for a sidewalk on grounds that it would be costly and that Fulton was too narrow.

So Janes tried a different tack: He asked the traffic commission to convert the street to one way.

At its meeting earlier this month, the commission denied that request, too.

Members noted that two-way streets generally prompt motorists to drive slower.

But the commission voted to have staff to look into appropriate signage and other traffic calming measures.

That could mean putting up a 15 mph speed limit sign or a sign saying “local traffic only.” Traffic calming measures could include a “bulb out,” which can be seen at many downtown intersections, or stamping the asphalt to give it the appearance of a brick walkway. (You can see an example of that on Christian Street, a narrow street in between Queen and Duke streets, running parallel to them.)

So, what’s Janes’ take of the traffic commission meeting?

He said when he tried to make the case again for a sidewalk, the commission wasn’t interested, but member Doug Smith “was extremely helpful.”

Smith raised the issue of stamped asphalt.

“So he’s looking for options and how we could make it work,” he said. “I thought that was really good.”

Janes said he also provided Cindy McCormick, the city’s deputy director of public works, with another potential means of keeping speeders in check: Retractable speed bumps.

Janes said when he raised the issue of speed bumps with staff, he was told traditional speed bumps made of asphalt are a problem for snow plows. So he did some checking and learned about retractable speed bumps and provided the commission with links to a couple examples of retractable speed bumps.

While the Watchdog could not reach anyone in public works about the feasibility of retractable speed bumps, it appears that one of the companies referenced by Janes was in the testing phase in a Texas city as of December 2018. The other company is based in Sweden and about 100 of its retractable speed bumps have been installed worldwide.

Give that dog a (second) bone

While the Watchdog is always appreciative of reader suggestions, he is always sniffing about for kibble that might prove of interest.

Which brings us to this week’s second item.

The Watchdog explores various Facebook community groups for said kibbles and recently came across a now-deleted (and quite vitriolic) post that accused the owners of the former Huber’s West End Market building at 501 West Lemon St. of abandoning the neighborhood.

The author noted there hasn’t been an update from the new owners in nine months.

“When you purchased this business, you promised it wouldn't sit empty and be abandoned. We're a year down the road and it's closed and decaying. The neighborhood is suffering from this loss. Please provide a substantive update …”

The Watchdog, who lived near Huber’s for more than a year, knew how much that store meant to many people in the area. He was intrigued by the new owners’ plans, which included a “restaurant and bike shop, as well as rentable studio and rehearsal space,” according to an Oct. 3, 2021, article.

The Watchdog contacted the new owners, Tracey and Adam Davis, who bought the building last April.

In an email, the Davises said they were saddened neighbors think they’ve abandoned the building and empathized with them.

They wrote:

“... it has been an incredibly challenging undertaking to try to get this project off the ground in the midst of a global pandemic. We had the best of intentions to get the renovation completed as soon as possible, but supply chain issues, labor shortages, and inflation related construction costs have significantly slowed us down and forced us to redesign and reimagine some of the spaces in the building. We are well aware that the community relied on the market and we want nothing more than to bring it back to life as soon as we can. We have an amazing team that has been working very hard to honor the history of the building in both design and function.”

The Watchdog asked what they meant by “redesign and reimagine,” but the Davises declined to elaborate.

The Watchdog will keep his nose to the ground on this.