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While three hospitals are located in Lancaster City— Lancaster County General Hospital, Lancaster Regional Medical Center, and Community Hospital of Lancaster—none are in the study area. All three do, however, provide emergency response services to Route 30. And several local fire companies provide additional ambulance services: Gap, Gordonville, Intercourse. Kinzers, Paradise, Ronks, Strasburg and White Horse fire companies. Police service within the study area is handled primarily by the Pennsylvania State Police, but East Lampeter, Sadsbury and Salisbury townships augment that service with their municipal police departments.
Education
The Pequea Valley School District serves all of Salisbury, Paradise and Leacock Townships. Leacock Township is the home of the Pequea Valley High School, Pequea Valley Intermediate School and the Leacock Township Elementary School. Salisbury Township contains the Salisbury Township Elementary School and Paradise Township the Paradise Township Elementary School. The Conestoga Valley School District provides schooling for all of East Lampeter Township, which is the home of the J.E. Fritz Elementary School, Smoketown Elementary School and Conestoga Valley Senior High School.
One-room Amish schoolhouses are also located throughout the study area. Only Plain Sect Community children attend those facilities, which provide up to an eighth grade education, the limit of academic life for Amish students.
Parks and Recreation
Salisbury Township's Community Park (28 acres of recreational ground) and Paradise Township Park are the only community parks to be found within the study area. East Lampeter Township Park, a 26.4-acre park located just outside the study area, contains a softball field, volleyball court, children's playground, nature trail and hiking trail. In addition, Denlinger's Pond near Leaman Place Bridge and Millbridge Campground are both privately owned facilities open to the general public.
Transportation
Rail – Railroad tracks were laid across the study area during the 19th century, taking advantage of the gap separating Gap Hill and Mine Hill to cross the highlands between Philadelphia and the Susquehanna River. The main line of the old Penn Central Railroad (now CSX) hauls an average of 15 freight trains per day across those tracks. AMTRAK passenger service also runs along those rail lines, with station stops in Lancaster and Coatesville, and a flag stop in Parkesburg. The Strasburg Railroad is a short-haul line running between Strasburg and the Leaman Place Bridge. Primarily a tourist attraction, it offers guided tours from the Strasburg Railroad Museum to the Leaman Place Bridge.
Bus – Bus service is provided by Red Rose Transit Authority, which originates in Lancaster City and terminates at Slaymaker Road in the Village of Kinzers at its eastern terminus. The Rockvale Square/Paradise bus provides numerous daily inbound and outbound trips for local commuters Monday through Saturday and several as far as Rockvale Square on Sunday. During the summer, a trolley bus runs east along Route 30 from Lancaster City to the Strasburg Railroad, then south to circle the town of Strasburg, returning northbound on Route 896, then back on to westbound Route 30 to Lancaster City. As a passenger convenience, both the bus and trolley services allow riders to request where they would like to be dropped off anywhere along the entire route, not just at designated stops. Local hotels and motels support the mass transit service with free bus and trolley passes included with their overnight stays. Many of the tourist attractions along the study area have parking facilities capable of accommodating privately chartered tour buses.
Buggies – Horse and buggy traffic uses Route 30 to gain access to points north and south of the study area. Several tourist-related buggy rides are also present through the study area.
Utilities
Most of the study area is rural with large tracts of farmland spread over miles of terrain. The underlying aquifer provides a good source of potable water. Therefore, the entire study area, except for the towns of Ronks and Soudersburg, is served by on-lot wells. The Lancaster City Water System extends its service to East Lampeter to provide fresh water to Ronks and Soudersburg. Sewer service is provided in each of the four municipalities in the study area by both municipal and on-lot sewer systems. In East Lampeter Township, the City of Lancaster Wastewater Treatment Plant serves the villages of Ronks and Soudersburg. All remaining properties in the study area not served by a public sewage system are served by on-lot septic systems.