MADAWASKA — Motorists in certain areas of Aroostook County and other parts of the state should be even more visually aware of how fast they are going thanks to a new program from the Maine Department of Transportation.
Town officials, local DOT personnel and law enforcement in a dozen communities throughout Aroostook County gathered last month in Madawaska for a training for towns in line to receive speed notification signs that will tell motorists how fast they are going when they are traveling on certain roads.
Ted Talbot, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation, said that the new dynamic feedback signs were purchased using $200,000 in federal safety funds.
“We bought 59 of them to give out to towns on a first come, first served basis,” he explained. “Almost every town that requested one got one.”
The signs are portable and can be moved to different locations in communities where speeding is a problem, he said.
“They are not the larger signs that people typically see the police using that come on a trailer,” he explained. “These are smaller and much more portable.”
The Aroostook municipalities getting the signs, according to Talbot, include: Island Falls, Patten, Masardis, Ashland, Portage, Eagle Lake, Wallagrass, Connor Twp., Grand Isle, Frenchville, St. Agatha, Monticello, Madawaska, Westfield, Caribou, Limestone, Fort Kent and Mapleton.
Patten Town Manager Raymond Foss said the signs, which were valued at $3,700 apiece, have been a positive addition to his community. The towns receive an electronic report showing how many vehicles passed by the sign and the speed at which they are travelling.
“It has provided us with good baseline information about the number of vehicles per day (2,200) and the number of violations in total and by day,” Foss said. “The highest speed recorded so far was 71 mph.”
Patten has communicated two reports of data – one for the first three days of operation and another for a week’s worth to the Maine State Police and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office. Based on the results, Foss said the Sheriff’s Office would have an increased police presence in the town and a speed limit sign will be erected shortly.
The town of Limestone placed their sign on Main street, near the town office, approximately one week ago. Last year, the town held a special meeting in which the possibility of purchasing a sign via local money was turned down. As a result, Town Manager Fred Ventresco says he is happy Limestone was able to receive their sign through the DOT.
“We’ve had some issues with people speeding on that hill (near the town office) and that happens to be where they placed it,” Ventresco said. “It suit our purposes well because of the speeders on that road, so it came at an opportune time.”
Limestone Police Chief Stacey Mahan adds that the sign has been “very productive so far,” especially with the school going back into session.
”We have a flashing 15 mph sign just above the hill when kids get out of school, but the speed sign serves as another attention getter for when the MSSM students, or kids leaving practice, are crossing the street,” Mahan said, adding that the department is considering building a trailer in an effort to efficiently move the sign to different locations.
A sign was also awarded to the city of Caribou, and recently placed on U.S. Route 1.
Editor’s Note: Houlton Pioneer Times reporter Joseph Cyr and Aroostook Republican reporter Christopher Bouchard contributed to this article.
