More ‘welcome’ to Naples’ signs?

A SIGN MARKS the town boundary between Casco and Naples along Route 11. The Town of Naples is pricing signs for major and minor roads. (De Busk Photo)

A SIGN MARKS the town boundary between Casco and Naples along Route 11. The Town of Naples is pricing signs for major and minor roads. (De Busk Photo)

By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — There are several roads that cross the Naples boundary line, where vehicles travel into “the heart of the Lakes Region.”

Some of those main thoroughfares like Route 302 and Route 11 have signs that were supplied by the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT.)

Naples Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak has been working with Muddy River Signs to produce some signs with the town’s logo, which has a pine tree growing near a body of water and a pair of waterfowl flying over the scene. The logo also includes the year that Naples was incorporated as a town.

“We will be working on templates for the sign that fell down,” he said.

“Are there any other town lines where the board wants to put signs up?” Paraschak asked the Naples Board of Selectmen during a May 4 meeting.

He estimated the cost for each sign would be between $500 and $600.

Chairman John Adams said, “We don’t really need them if you have ones from the state.”

Selectman Bob Caron II said he like the signs from MDOT.

Those signs, such as the one alongside Route 302 near the Lake Region High School, and reflective green and white signs.

As a group, the three selectmen present at the meeting instructed the town manager to go ahead and price signs, giving prices for larger signs on more frequently travelled roads and smaller signs on minor roads.

Minor roads, such as Harrison Road and Route 114, might get vandalized, Paraschak said. He countered his concern, saying that when he was Denmark Town Manager, they put up a sign in a remote area in Denmark. He thought it was likely to be vandalized. But, the sign remained intact and untouched.

The selectman did not comment on whether that was a concern. There was mention of the costs of signs that might duplicate signs already erected by the state transportation department.

Selectman Rick Paraschak was the person who suggested that signs might be sized proportionally to how much traffic passes by.

Each road has a certain number of vehicles that drive on it, he said.

Roosevelt Trail is obviously an area where a town sign would get higher visibility. Route 11 is another heavily traveled road, he said.