ORONO – Traffic concerns in the close-knit Webster Park neighborhood are nothing new, and residents were pleased Tuesday evening when the operations committee agreed that stop signs erected there in the fall of 2002 were worth keeping.

Eight stop signs that cost $65 each were put up in response to concerns from area residents about the speed at which cars traveled the straight stretch of road posted at 25 mph.

Residents had complained of speeding vehicles, tires squealing at all hours, and cars occasionally going airborne over the railroad tracks.

“Right now, it’s controlling speed to a point that it’s safe,” said Bob Lindyburg, of North Main Street. “If you pull them out, it will be unsafe.”

Town Manager Cathy Conlow reminded residents that stop signs are used to control traffic flow and not speed.

“I don’t give two hoots in hell what they’re designed to do and what they’re not designed to do,” Doug Hall of Crosby Street said. He said his concern was with what they were doing, whether designed to do it or not.

Residents said they have noticed a world of difference in the neighborhood since the signs were installed, and that they feel much safer walking and allowing their children to play outside.

The committee agreed that residents’ concerns were valid, and that the signs should remain in place.

“We will not bring this back at any point in the future,” Conlow said.