While I was on my second run, I thought "Why am I not just starting at the sign?"  With some thought I get that the idea is to build vibe and give a little more playtime, but I think the walk could have been left out altogether.  Move the sign closer to the town, and spawn the player within visual range of the sign.  That way there's no "what should I be doing?" for a new player, but immediate direction: "oh, a sign...where does that point me?  Oh, a town ahead, ok." and off they go.