No to the pillars. Yes to the way-finding signs. 

Members of the Barrington Town Council voted unanimously on Monday, July 24, to approve the installation of some way-finding signs in town. 

That vote followed a 2-1 Council decision in early June to remove two Barrington Town Center “pillar” signs. Council President Carl Kustell referenced the pillar signs early into the discussion at the July 24 meeting. He said he was glad the Council voted to remove those signs. Kustell also said he had reviewed comments from residents regarding the proposed way-finding signs.

“There’s some negative comments, but not the uproar that people had about the pillar signs,” Kustell said. 

The Council had paused the installation of the way-finding signs in order to gather feedback from residents. Councilor Annelise Conway said many of the comments from residents had to do with funding. Council member Braxton Cloutier said the town utilized a $58,400 grant from Commerce Rhode Island to pay for the way-finding signs. He said the signs were approved in 2014. 

Cloutier reminded residents that if the town does not continue with the installation of the signs, it will need to repay the $58,400. 

A graphic posted on the town’s website details what the way-finding signs will look like and where they will be located. Six of the signs will be installed on or near County Road — there is one near the entrance to the Barrington Shopping Center that includes directional arrows pointing toward the center, Bosworth Street businesses and the government center. Others have arrows pointing toward Maple Avenue and Waseca Avenue, as well as the Bayside YMCA. 

The signs will stand more than 10 feet tall, with a blue rectangular banner at the top featuring white lettering.

Council member Rob Humm said he supports the way-finding project and the signs. He said they were tasteful, not invasive, and were consistent with the character of the town. 

Humm also made the motion to install the way-finding signs. The vote passed, 5-0. 

Commercial sign ordinance

Barrington will soon develop design standards for commercial signs. 

At the July 24 meeting, members of the Council voted to “develop a vision for the commercial and mixed-use districts, to include an evaluation of the sign ordinance and development standards, as part of the upcoming update to the Comprehensive Community Plan.”

Councilor Kate Berard said she had read over comments from the Economic Development Commission and Technical Review Committee regarding commercial signs. Berard said the discussion stemmed from new businesses coming in, particularly Chipotle, and that the town does not have any design standards for signs.

The now-removed pillar signs brought the lack of design standards to light, Berard said.