Why Are These Classic Maine Town Line Signs Going Extinct?

For as long as I can remember, we have had unique road signs at town lines within the state. But slowly over the past 10 years, many have been replaced with a sign that lacks the character of the iconic signs they replaced.

The original signs were thin with a black box at the top of the sign with the words "TOWN LINE" on it. Below was the name of the town spelled out vertically with black letters on a white background.

They aren't completely gone yet, but it seems they are slowly going extinct as they are replaced by green highway signs like you'd see on the highway. They lack any sort of character.

Call me sentimental, but I remember driving to my grandmother's house as a kid looking for these signs as we passed from town to town. They are pure Maine, and the new signs just look like something you'd see in any state. It seems I'm not the only one that feels this way.

I've noticed several new signs have gone up that aren't exact duplicates of the original, but they're close, and all of them are just slightly different from each other, even on the same sign.

These are from the town line separating Falmouth and Westbrook on Brook Road.

Same post, different fonts and different designs, yet close to the original.

It gets even weirder. The town line between Portland and Westbrook near Burger King on Riverside Street was replaced recently, and originally looked like this.

The replacement changed "Town Line" to "City Line."

I'm so confused.

I just would like to see the original town signs return, because these green ones put in place by the Maine DOT are ugly. Who's with me?