Paris seeks to slow down vehicles speeding through town
Sep. 28—PARIS — Town officials are hoping to address the problem with the uptick in the number of speeding vehicles traveling on town roads.
Board of Selectmen Chairman Christopher Summers and Vice Chairman Scott McElravy said they have spoken to constituents upset at the vehicle speeds by numerous drivers in areas of town.
McElravy said he spoke to one resident who was disappointed that nothing appeared to have been done to slow traffic on Ryerson Hill Road. He was unsure if there were any posted speed limit signs on the road, but Town Manager Dawn Noyes said she would look into the issue and place a computerized radar device to measure the speeds, which McElravy said may reach 75 mph.
Summers talked to another constituent who lives on Streaked Mountain Road about speeding vehicles there. There is no posted speed limit sign, so Summers suggested the town work with officials from the Maine Department of Transportation to determine the appropriate speed there.
The state is in charge of determining the speed limit on all roads, not the town, but Noyes noted that officials can ask the state to review its findings if the town thinks the limit should be lower.
Summers and McElravy noted drivers are speeding on Paris Hill Road since it was repaved this summer. Both said that while they were driving the posted limit in the residential area they were being passed by drivers.
In other business, the board rejected an opportunity to allow town employees who failed to sign up for the Maine State Retirement System a second chance to join if they had earlier declined the opportunity. Noyes said the new method would allow employees up to five years to join, but contributions would be after tax, not pretax benefit.
The board voted unanimously to keep the present policy in place of having to sign up for the retirement system at the time of hire. Those benefits are pretax.
The board changed the date and time of its next scheduled meeting from Oct. 11, which is a holiday, to Tuesday, Oct. 12, at 4 p.m.
Selectman Peter Kilgore praised the Rotary Club for its work to refurbish the town gazebo.
In her report, Noyes said the town audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30 is underway. She also noted that the paving project for King Hill Road may not be completed by Friday's deadline.
