‘Barrington Town Center’ signs are going, going … gone

Barrington Public Works crew removes two pillar signs

By Josh Bickford
Posted 6/7/23

The two “Barrington Town Center” pillar signs that drew plenty of criticism from residents, out-of-towners, and members of Town Council are gone.

A crew from the Barrington …

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‘Barrington Town Center’ signs are going, going … gone

Barrington Public Works crew removes two pillar signs

Posted

The two “Barrington Town Center” pillar signs that drew plenty of criticism from residents, out-of-towners, and members of Town Council are gone.

A crew from the Barrington Department of Public Works removed the signs on Tuesday, June 6, less than 24 hours after members of the Barrington Town Council voted to have them taken down. 

The signs — one was located near the intersection of Rumstick Road and County Road and the other was on County Road near the Prince’s Hill Cemetery — appeared a little more than a month ago and quickly drew a critical response from people, especially online. Residents wrote comments such as “Ugly and not necessary,” “They are hideous,” and “What a waste of taxpayer money.”

When the Barrington Town Council discussed the signs at its May meeting, some members echoed the criticism. Kate Berard said the signs appeared to be wildly out of place in Barrington. Council President Carl Kustell said the signs did not reflect the vibe of the community. Rob Humm, however, suggested the Council wait a month before deciding whether to remove the signs.

But at the June 5 meeting, Humm acknowledged that the community’s overwhelming response to the signs was not positive.

“I don’t really care one way or another,” Humm said. “I almost don’t notice them.”

Humm then said that if there was a motion to remove the signs, he would support it. 

A few residents spoke about the pillar signs during the Council meeting; most of them wanted the pillar signs removed. 

Mark Hanchar said the pillar signs were atrocious. He also asked who had approved their installation.

Kustell would not offer a name. He said the signs had been part of a long review process, although officials had earlier said that while the smaller way finding signs’s review process started in 2014 and had been vetted by the Planning Board, Technical Review Committee and Economic Development Commission, the pillar signs were added to the plan in 2019 and only went before the EDC.

Eventually, the Council voted 2-1 to have the signs removed, with Braxton Cloutier casting the dissenting vote. 

When Cloutier announced his intent to vote against removing the signs because it would cost money, some residents in the audience shouted their disapproval. Cloutier reprimanded them — he said he had let other people speak and wanted to be extended the same respect. Kustell then warned the attendees that he could take steps to address rowdy, disrespectful behavior. 

Providence-based SurfaceMatter designed the pillar signs.

Smaller signs 

Council members voted to pause the installation of the additional way finding signs. 

Kustell said it would be best to give the public time to review what the smaller way finding signs will look like before they are installed — photos of the signs will be posted to the town’s website. 

Humm, a former member of the town’s Economic Development Commission, said he fully supports the mission of the way finding signs. He also supported a review period before installing the smaller signs.

More than $50,000 is tied into the way finding signs. Barrington Town Manager Phil Hervey said the town would need to repay the state $58,000 if they do not install the smaller signs. 

Cloutier initially questioned the decision to wait before installing the smaller way finding signs. He asked what would change following the delay.

Kustell and Humm said the pause would offer the public more time to review the signs. Humm said the smaller signs are less invasive and he believes people will like them.

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