Sign: A help or a danger?

 

By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

To help visitors find the ice arena and athletic complex, Bridgton Academy would like to install a sign on the triangular-shaped property at the intersection of Route 37 and Chadbourne Hill Road.

Bridgton Selectman Doug Taft, however, is very concerned that the sign could be a major obstruction to what he calls the “triangle of challenge.”

Over his 40 years in law enforcement, Taft always asked motorists if there were “contributing factors” which played a role in collisions. He often heard motorists complain about various “things” that obstructed their view.

Taft wondered if Bridgton could be held liable if the town allowed the Academy to place the sign — which indicates with arrows where the Bridgton Ice Arena and Bridgton Academy Athletic Complex are located — on the town-owned triangle.

Bridgton Academy offered to place a “mock sign” at the location to allow officials to determine whether it would be an obstruction.

Bridgton Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz offered a possible solution. Because new fire equipment can maneuver around tight corners better than previous trucks, Berkowitz suggested not plowing the “ramp way,” this winter and see whether it is truly needed.

Immediately, the idea was shot down by selectmen, who already heard from North Bridgton residents that they wish to keep the roadway, as well as Public Works Director Jim Kidder, who felt oil trucks and service vehicles “need a running start” during the winter to climb Chadbourne Hill Road.

The request failed as the result of a 2-2 vote — Taft and Bernie King voted “no” while Woody Woodward and Bob McHatton voted “yes” to allow a mock paper sign be place there for officials to check.