Snowmobile Club agrees to move signs
A complaint about the placement of the Harvard Snowmobile Club’s signs led to an agreement last week between the club and the Conservation Commission to move two signs from the Holy Hill trailhead on South Shaker Road to the Ann Lee Road ballfield parking lot. The club maintains a townwide trail system that uses existing conservation trails but also crosses private property where permission is granted. Club president Tony Shaw and other members have met with the commission several times this fall to update them on the progress the club is making on its annual trail maintenance.
Club member Joe Gibbons, who has done the club’s signage for four years, told the commission that Holy Hill was a “real trouble spot for signage.” Other people would remove the signs that the club put up, and snow ploughs would bury the signs under snow, he said.
Conservation Commission Vice Chairman Wendy Sisson said that Holy Hill was the most-used conservation area in town and that it had historical and aesthetic value. The club’s signs at the trailhead were very noticeable and overshadowed the commission’s own signs, she said.
The club’s signs include arrows pointing to the trails, as well as maps displaying the entire system and notices reminding snowmobilers that they are required to have permits. The signs that are screwed into trees remain up all year, but signs on stakes are taken away when the cold season ends.
