Massachusetts Residents Shocked At New Signs On Hiking Trail

KeepitMelloOoW / Reddit

Residents hiking along a trail in Belmont, Massachusetts spotted some strange signs saying some things that had them wondering what was going on.

Reddit user, KeepitMelloOoW, posted a picture of one of the signs which said “No Eye Contact” in big, black, bold letters with a statement below saying that “Per Belmont Tradition $10,000 Fine.”

27-year-old Belmont resident, Venya Knyazev, who frequently walks his dog, Sherlock, on the hiking trail added that he was shocked when he saw them in real life.

A $10,000 fine for making eye contact obviously sounds a bit out of control, but that wasn’t the only sign that had people’s jaws dropping.

Venya posted another photo of a sign to Reddit saying, “No Running With Sticks. Do it in Waltham — they don’t care if you put your eye out. Per Belmont Bylaw…(forgot which #)”

The photos of the signs received a lot of comments from people who thought they were hilarious and good old Northeast humor.

“That may be the most New England thing I’ve ever seen. Love it,” wrote one Reddit user.

Another described growing up in Massachusetts saying, “I smoke a cigarette and my neighbor does too. We’re always out at the same time. Our house is right up to their yard. I’ve never even looked in her direction.”

While the signs may just be good old humorous fun pointing out the rivalry between the residents living in the suburbs of Belmont and their neighboring town of Waltham, the signs were likely put there by someone as a joke.

“I think [the fake signs were] poking fun at something that’s probably somewhat realistic, which is the fact that Belmont might be a little overly-restrictive with some of its rules, and also the way some people in Belmont feel about out-of-towners,” Venya said, according to The Boston Globe.

Since then, the signs have been removed and no one has stepped up to claim ownership of them.

A town employee told The Boston Globe in an email, “Those signs were not Belmont-sanctioned signs and they have been removed.”