Vermont residents close road to keep out leaf peepers during peak fall foliage

The residents of this town just want people to leaf them alone.

The hamlet of Pomfret, Vermont, petitioned to close a road near Sleepy Hollow Farm from Sept. 23 to Oct. 15 because residents are fed up with how often it is overrun with tourists looking to snap photos of the beautiful fall foliage.

The farm is actually a private residence and not an official tourist destination, which becomes problematic when the narrow road nearby is overrun with cars driven by tourists, local say.

Neighbors have grown tired of the hassle that comes along with so many people visiting the area to take pictures of the bucolic landscape.

“People (are) showing up and walking all over private property and peeing on the side of the road and on private property,” neighbor Mike Doten told TODAY.

“We see people in dressing rooms like they bring dressing rooms to change in different outfits and take pictures,” said another neighbor, Amy Robb.

And while the influx of visitors has brought issues of privacy to the forefront, there are also safety concerns about emergency vehicles being forced to sit in traffic. Neighbors took a stand and petitioned to close the road to outside traffic, putting up the money to cover the necessary costs to do so.

While the road may be closed, townspeople say there’s plenty of fall foliage elsewhere for people to snap a memorable selfie.

“You can just drive up (Interstate) 89, which is our north-south throughway, and have a beautiful drive,’ Beth Finlayson told TODAY.

Closing off a road like this are not totally uncommon, either.

Hallstatt, Austria, which resembles the kingdom of Arendelle from Disney’s “Frozen,” draws more than a million visitors annually. That spurred the 750 people who live there to block the lone road into town.

Anyone heading to Venice, Italy, will have to pay a newly approved 5 Euro tax for day trippers, while another town in the country, Portofino, hands out $300 tickets to anyone who lingers too long in selfie spots.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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