Many people choose to decorate for the holiday season. In the city of Milford, along with the typical yard and house decorations, street signs are also decorated.

     This trend became popular starting last year, and it is slowly becoming an annual tradition by Milford residents. An estimated 250 signs were decorated throughout the whole city last year, according to News 12 Connecticut.

     The unofficial “go” date for the decorations this year is December 4. However, residents are free to decorate whenever they wish, as long as they are removed by January 15, 2022.

     The students and faculty of Foran enjoy the decorations as well. Junior Zoë Fallon, a Milford resident of 10 years, loves all of the holiday decorations during this time of year, especially the street signs.

     Fallon says, “I think that designing street signs during December is a great way to make our community more festive and bring the city of Milford together during the holiday season.”

     Sharon Brosnaha Rutledge, of Facebook group You Know You Live in Milford, played a big role in starting this trend last year. While decorating her home, she decided to decorate her street sign as well, to bring even more holiday cheer. She took a picture on Facebook and said she would love to see this catch on and see everyone’s pictures.

     People quickly caught on and started to post their own pictures on social media, using the hashtag #MilfordChallenge. Leftover garland, lights, or wreaths can all be used to decorate. 

     Police also keep a careful eye on this activity, as blocking the street name could be a safety hazard and cause accidents. However, they do not intervene unless the decorations are blocking the signs in a way that could be dangerous to EMS responders. 

     An alternative to street signs that many people are participating in this year is to decorate mailboxes as well. This way, there is no risk of blocking any important information that may be seen on a street sign. 

     Citizens are also asked to avoid decorating any traffic signs, such as stop signs and yield signs, and just stick to their own street sign. 

     According to the You Know You Live in Milford group, Mayor Ben Blake says he “supports the initiative and is looking forward to seeing all the street signs decorated again.”