Two public meetings have been scheduled to discuss the new stop sign at the end of the Appleton bridge. The first will take place on September 29 at the Appleton Museum at 7 p.m. The second is scheduled for October 5 at the Lanark County Public Works at the Lanark County Offices in Perth.The tentative time is 6 p.m. to be confirmed.
It appears that a local resident complained that there were safety issues at the end of the bridge. County engineer Steve Allen consulted with the OPP road safety adviser and recommended an additional stop sign after assessing the visual restrictions of the old general store and river bank vegetation. The store and bank vegetation make it difficult to see the bridge traffic from either of the north or south bound River Road stop positions. As a result a stop sign was erected at the end of the bridge.
Another resident then circulated a petition which stated that the stop sign was unnecessary and dangerous. This petition was brought before the Roads and Public Works Committee on June 9 which referred the matter to council. Council passed a resolution supporting the removal of the stop sign as there had been no record of safety concerns from the OPP.
Many Appleton residents were surprised to learn that there were any objections to the new stop sign, and that there had been a petition and presentations to the town and the county ostensibly on their behalf. No notice had been posted at the mailboxes. No message had been sent to the Appleton email list.
The resolution was forwarded to Lanark County offices as the bridge, joining two county roads, is within the county jurisdiction. The Lanark Public Works Committee, which includes two Mississippi Mills representatives, Val Wilkinson and John Levi, voted to maintain the stop sign and so notified Mississippi Mills.
The public meetings have now been scheduled to deal with this issue.