Title 23, Title 23

Municipal officers may designate by appropriate signs public streets, roads or sidewalks whereon persons may slide with any vehicle. They may restrict any traffic on such public streets, roads or sidewalks and anyone violating such restrictions shall be punished by a fine of $5 f…

When streets, roads or sidewalks have been so designated under section 2851, the municipal officers shall cause such designation and such reasonable restrictions as they may adopt to be recorded in the records of the town and their action shall be in force until modified or annul…

Whenever the location of any state aid or town way that was designated as a 3rd class highway at the time that the 3rd class highway designations were rescinded is changed, added to, discontinued or a new location is established by a town or city, the municipal officers of said t…

When buildings or fences have existed more than 20 years fronting upon any way, street, lane or land appropriated to public use, the bounds of which cannot be made certain by records or monuments, such buildings or fences shall be deemed the true bounds thereof. When the bounds c…

1. Announcement of winter closing of roads. The municipal officers may on their own initiative, or upon petition by 7 legal voters of the municipality, at any time between May 1st and October 1st of any year, set forth that any road or roads, or portion thereof, in the municipali…

As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following words shall have the following meaning. [PL 1975, c. 711, §8 (NEW).] 1. Highway purposes. "Highway purposes" means use as a town way and those things incidental to the laying out, construction,…

The municipal officers may, personally or by agency, lay out, alter or widen town ways. They shall give written notice of their intentions posted at least 7 days in 2 public places in the municipality and in the vicinity of the way and shall in the notice describe the proposed wa…

A municipality may take property or interests therein for highway purposes if the municipal officers determine that public exigency requires the immediate taking of such property interests, or if the municipality is unable to purchase it at what the municipal officers deem reason…

No taking of property or interests therein by a municipality, or the discontinuance of a town way except by abandonment, after September 12, 1959, shall be valid against owners of record or abutting landowners who have not received actual notice, unless there is recorded in the r…

No property or interests therein may be dedicated for highway purposes unless the owner of such property or interest has filed with the municipal officers a petition, agreement, deed, affidavit or other writing specifically describing the property or interest and its location, an…

A municipality may terminate in whole or in part any interests held by it for highway purposes. A municipality discontinuing a town way or public easement in this State must meet the following requirements. [PL 2015, c. 464, §5 (NEW).] 1. Notification of discontinuance to abuttin…

1. Vacation of ways. When proposed town ways have been described in a recorded subdivision plan and lots have been sold with reference to the plan, the municipal officers, after notice to the municipal planning board or office, may, on their own initiative, on petition of the abu…

1. Recording of vacation order. A copy of the order of vacation by the municipal officers entered under section 3027 shall be recorded in the registry of deeds where the plan of subdivision is recorded and shall contain an alphabetical listing of the names of the subdivision lot …

Beginning October 1, 2021, a town way, or portion thereof, may not be declared discontinued by abandonment unless the municipality or county where the proposed abandoned town way is situated complies with the requirements of this section. A municipality or its officials or a coun…

Damages must be determined using the methods in sections 154 to 154‑E, as far as practicable, except that references to the "commission" or the "board" mean the "municipal officers" and references to the "state" mean the "municipality." [RR 2021, c. 2, Pt. A, §65 (COR).] Any pers…

1. Cause of action. An owner of property abutting a discontinued or abandoned road in which a public easement exists may bring a civil action in Superior Court for damages and injunctive relief against a person who causes damage to the road in a manner that impedes reasonable acc…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abridge the authority of a municipality to acquire property or interests therein for highway purposes by purchase, or to modify the law relating to acquisition of property by a municipality through prescriptive use.

1. Public rights. From the date of recording of a subdivision plan in the registry of deeds, the public acquires rights of incipient dedication to public use of the ways laid out on the plan. If a proposed way laid out in the plan is not accepted by the municipality within 20 yea…

1. Deemed vacation. 1-A. Deemed vacation. A proposed, unaccepted way or portion of a proposed, unaccepted way laid out on a subdivision plan recorded in the registry of deeds prior to September 29, 1987 is deemed to have been subject to an order of vacation under section 3027 if,…

1. Notice by person claiming ownership. Any person claiming to own a proposed, unaccepted way or portion of a proposed, unaccepted way deemed vacated under section 3032 may record, in the registry of deeds where the subdivision plan, to which the notice set forth in this subsecti…

1. Action to compel removal. When any structure, for 20 years, has been continuously located, in whole or in part, within a proposed, unaccepted way laid out in a subdivision plan recorded in the registry of deeds, and lots have been sold with reference to this plan, no action ma…

Nothing in sections 3031 to 3034 may be construed to extend the period for the bringing of an action or for the doing of any other required act under any statute of limitations. Nothing in those sections may be construed to affect the nature of any right or interest which may be …

The Maine Abandoned and Discontinued Roads Commission, referred to in this section as "the commission," is established by Title 5, section 12004‑I, subsection 83‑A and operates in accordance with this section. [PL 2021, c. 743, §2 (NEW).] 1. Members. The commission consists of th…

If any municipality in the construction or repair of its highways places any stone, sod or other material upon land within the limit of any highway which the owner has cleared from stone and smoothed so that it is tillable land and so used, said municipality shall within 30 days …

No contract shall be awarded unless its faithful performance shall be secured to the State by a bond in penal sum of not less than 20% of the amount of the contract.

Whenever a municipality undertakes a project for construction or reconstruction of a public way, the owner of an aboveground facility, including but not limited to poles, guys, hydrants, transformers or other utility facilities, within that portion of the public way shall ensure …

1. Definitions. As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. "Private way" means a public easement as defined in section 3021, subsection 2. [PL 2007, c. 625, §1 (NEW).] B. "Repairs and maintenance" does n…

The commissioner or board chosen under section 3101, with respect to the private road, private way or bridge, has the powers of a road commissioner. If any owner, on requirement of the commissioner or board, neglects to furnish that owner's proportion of labor, materials or money…

The owners, at a meeting held under section 3101, may by a majority vote of the owners present and voting in person or by written proxy or absentee ballot authorize: [PL 2023, c. 387, §2 (NEW).] 1. Contract for repair. A contract for repairs or maintenance to the private road, pr…

Money recovered under sections 3102 and 3103 is for the use of the owners. In any notice of claim or process for the money's recovery, a description of the owners as owners of parcels of land benefited by the private road, private way or bridge by name, clearly describing each ow…

The legislative body of any town or village corporation at a legal town or village corporation meeting may authorize the municipal officers of the town or assessors of the village corporation to use the town's or village corporation's highway equipment on private ways within such…

1. Protection or restoration of great ponds through repairs to private roads, ways or bridges. For the purpose of protecting or restoring a great pond, as defined in Title 38, section 480‑B, subsection 5, a municipality may appropriate funds to repair a private road, way or bridg…

1. Cost sharing. If more than one property shares a common benefit from a private road, each property owner who shares the common benefit is responsible for a share of the cost of reasonable and necessary repairs to and maintenance of that private road determined pursuant to the …

Bridle paths and trails may be laid out, altered or discontinued by any town or city within such town or city on petition therefor in the same manner as is provided by law for the laying out, altering or discontinuing of town ways in a town or city streets in a city, except that …

Bridle paths and trails, when laid out and accepted under section 3151, shall be subject to such regulations as to use as may be established by the city or town laying them out.

Cities and towns maintaining bridle paths and trails mentioned in sections 3151 and 3152 shall not be under any obligation to keep them in repair or to break them out in winter. If any city or town shall erect a bridge on such bridle path or trail, it shall be under the same obli…

When any ways are blocked or encumbered with snow, the road commissioner shall forthwith cause so much of it to be removed or trodden down as will render them passable. The town may direct the manner of doing it. In case of sudden injury to ways or bridges, he shall without delay…

There shall be furnished and kept in repair in each section of the town through which there is a mail route some effectual apparatus for opening ways obstructed by snow, to be used to break and keep open the way to the width of 10 feet, and the municipal officers of towns, or any…

The municipal officers of a town may at the expense of the town construct ditches, drains and culverts to carry water away from any highway or road therein, and over or through any lands of persons or corporations, when they deem it necessary for public convenience or for the pro…

1. Change in drainage; obstruction. A person, personally or through the person's agents or servants, may not do any of the following acts in a manner that changes the drainage of a public way or obstructs a public way: A. Cultivate, in connection with the improvement of lands adj…

When the attention of a municipal officer, or, for an unorganized place, a county commissioner, is directed to a violation of section 3252 within the municipal officer's or county commissioner's jurisdiction, the municipal officer or county commissioner shall enter a complaint ag…

No road commissioner, without written permission from the municipal officers, shall cause a watercourse to be so constructed by the side of a way as to incommode any person's house or other building or to obstruct anyone in the prosecution of his business. Any person so aggrieved…

As used in this subchapter, unless the context indicates otherwise, the following words have the following meanings. [PL 1987, c. 75 (NEW).] 1. Barrier. "Barrier" means any wire, cable, cable wire, chain link, lumber, gate or other similar device placed or erected across a town w…

The municipal officers of any municipality that erects or places a barrier across a town way shall cause the barrier to be marked in a manner that causes the barrier to be visible to a person traveling on the town way towards the barrier on a snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, moto…

Any person who violates section 3272 commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture not to exceed $500 may be adjudged.

Towns shall erect and maintain at all crossings of highways, and where one public highway enters another, guideposts and guideboards indicating the name of the next town on the route and of such other place as the municipal officers direct, with the number of miles thereto. Such …