About 16 years after discussions began about making improvements to Lancaster's Amtrak station and almost four years of actual renovations, this may be the year when the once stately building will again become a showplace.

"This is our year to get the interior where it will be presentable to the public," said Marilyn Jamison, a senior director of major project partnerships for Amtrak.

The benches and brass inside the station at 53 McGovern Ave. look great,  Jamison said. "Now it is time for the plaster."

Peeling paint and crumbling plaster have marred the interior of the station, built in 1929, even as Lancaster County officials completed a $14.2 million renovation project.

The interior finishes were not included in the original scope of the project because they were in better condition when plans were developed more than a decade ago. Water damage from a leaking roof, however, gradually degraded the station.

Last year, Amtrak pledged to complete the cosmetic work. Graffiti-scarred benches were the first to be refinished.

Jamison said money has been budgeted for the replastering and painting. Amtrak is now awaiting approval from the state Historical and Museum Commission, which must review plans for the historic building, she said.

The Federal Railroad Administration submitted plans for approval early last month. Lead abatement, in addition to plaster repair and refinishing and painting, are included in the plans.

Jamison said period color schemes from the late 1920s also are being reviewed.

"We are going to make this happen," she said.

Jamison, based in Amtrak's Philadelphia office, was in Lancaster Tuesday to address the Lancaster Traffic Commission. She was there to formally withdraw a petition submitted by an Amtrak police captain two months ago regarding rerouting station traffic.

The earlier plan called for closing the station entrance from North Queen Street. The effort was intended to accommodate buses, which were stopping in front of the station because drivers could not turn the 45-foot intercity buses within the station lot.

The lot and the bus canopies included in the recent renovation were designed for 40-foot buses which were  then in use.

Jamison said she and other interested parties met Monday with representatives of Bieber Bus Service, a Kutztown company that uses the longer buses. The company agreed to have its drivers use the driveway and canopies and not stop in front of the station.

She said cones will be placed under the canopies next week to discourage taxis from using the space. Taxi drivers began using the canopy area because they realized the bus drivers were not using it.

Also on Tuesday, city Traffic Commission members:

• Approved "No Truck" signs to be placed at Lime and Church streets. The action comes after a truck driver,  unable to negotiate the turn onto Shippen Street from  Church Street, toppled a light pole and damaged a sculpture at Eastern Market Plaza.

• Approved the addition of cautionary pavement markings in the 500 block of North Plum Street after property owners complained about parked cars being struck at a curve in the roadway.

• Tabled a request from West Liberty Street resident Lynn Miller to have stop signs, marked crosswalks and curb extensions installed along West Liberty Street.

Miller was concerned about an increase in traffic resulting from the planned extension of West Liberty Street to Harrisburg Avenue.

Mayor Rick Gray said her petition was premature because plans for the extension have not been submitted. Miller also was told she would have the opportunity to raise her concerns at a public meeting at Liberty Place on Monday, Jan. 14, or when overall land plans come before the city Planning Commission on Jan. 16.
bharris@lnpnews.com