The view of Rainbow Lake from Clearview Drive, one of nine Lakes roads adopted by the town under a scenic designation that has less rigorous codes than normal town roads. —Macklin Reid photo
Speed limit 10 miles per hour. Speed limit 5 miles per hour. Stop! No Outlet. Scenic Road…
The police department has outlined plans to post 47 signs — including 15 “scenic road” signs — on the slightly more than three miles of Ridgefield Lakes roads accepted by the town in early June.
“With the approval of the scenic roads, they now require signage, not only speed limit signs, stop signs, curve signs, whatever kind of signs you see around town will now be appearing in the scenic road neighborhoods,” First Selectman Rudy Marconi said.
“Some people may like this, and there may be some that will not like it, or grow to dislike it.”
The police consider traffic signs a standard part of safety enforcement on public roads.
“When you take over a road it’s got to be up to standard, it’s got to have speed limit signs, stop signs, all the advisory signs, narrow roads, curve warning signs,” said Capt. Jeff Kreitz, the police department’s public relations officer.
The department does not mean to overwhelm the scenic area with signs.
“…We are going to do our best to maintain the integrity of the neighborhoods in that area, but safety is our top priority for the residents who live in the area as well as the motorists traveling on the roads,” Capt. Kreitz said
“We are also bound by federal standards when posting signage on the towns roadways.”
The request for just over $3,400 to finance the sign-posting was expected to come before the Board of Selectmen at Wednesday night’s meeting, too late for this issue of The Press.
The requisition outlines the signs proposed for each of the nine Lakes area roads that have recently become official town roads:
• Lakeside Drive: three 10 miles per hour signs, one stop sign, two scenic road signs;
• Mountain Road: two 10 miles per hour signs; two scenic road signs;
• Shady Lane: two 10 miles per hour signs, two scenic road signs, two arrows;
• Lake Road: two 5 miles per hour signs, two scenic road signs, two stop signs;
• Clearview Drive: two 10 miles per hour signs, two scenic road signs, two stop signs;
• Clearview Terrace: two 10 miles per hour signs, two scenic road signs, three stop signs;
• Lakeside Drive Extension: one 10 miles per hour sign, one scenic road sign, one no outlet sign, one stop sign;
• Rainbow Drive: one 10 miles per hour sign; one scenic road sign; one stop sign; one no outlet sign;
• Woody Place: one 5 miles per hour sign, one scenic road sign, one no outlet sign, one stop sign.
Lakeside Drive and Mountain Road are roughly a mile each, and the other roads are each about a tenth of mile, or less.
A breakdown of the signs’ cost is: 16 speed limit signs, $400; 11 stop signs, $423; three no outlet signs, $96; 15 scenic road signs, $525; two arrow signs, $80.
The signs will be mounted on eight-foot posts that are attached with “breakaway hardware” to three-foot posts that are anchored in the ground — an approach designed to protect the safety of motorists who might chance to hit a roadside sign.
The 47 posts in two sizes, all the nuts and bolts, and the breakaway hardware totals $1,882.
The money for the signs was requested by Police Chief John Roche and is expected to come from the town’s contingency account, which had more than $40,000 left in it for the 2013-14 fiscal year, Mr. Marconi said.
“You have to put up stop signs, you have to put up speed limit signs. Chief Roche has stated his sign budget is pretty much dried up,” Mr. Marconi said.