It suddenly seems necessary to remind the leadership of the Steamship Authority that the boat line was created and exists for Islanders.
Not to minimize the importance of ferrying tourists to and from our shores, but it suddenly seems necessary to remind the leadership of the Steamship Authority that the boat line was created and exists for Islanders, who are on the hook if it fails to meet its financial obligations.
The sixty-million-dollar Woods Hole terminal reconstruction project now in the spotlight is the latest example of an organization that seems to have lost sight of its charter and is unable to see the ocean for the waves.
In a rare show of unanimity across the water, at public meetings last week residents in Woods Hole and on Martha’s Vineyard spoke out against the planned chalet-like ticket office more appropriate to an alpine valley than perched on the edge of the rough tidal waters of Woods Hole.
Critics say the two-story glass and stone ticket office is poorly conceived, overly grand, mismatched with its surroundings and regressive when it comes to energy efficiency. Two state representatives — Cape and Island Rep. Dylan Fernandes and Plymouth Sen. Viriato (Vinny) deMacedo — have called on the SSA to redesign the building.
And in a special edition of its conservation almanac newsletter that went out just before the monthly board meeting held on the Vineyard this week, the Vineyard Conservation Society warns that car-carrying capacity could expand under the plan to convert the third slip in Woods Hole from limited use to fully operational.
VCS also rightly points out the Steamship Authority’s mandate does not include promoting tourism, and yet its budget for advertising — $1.3 million this year — is growing.
Against this backdrop, it was especially stunning then when the board met on Tuesday at the regional high school in Oak Bluffs and governors offered only scant acknowledgment of the public criticism. Management delivered a perfunctory progress report on the construction work underway in Woods Hole, but little else was said until the public comment period that came at the end of the meeting.
And when people stood to criticize the Woods Hole terminal plan and air concerns about bringing more cars to the Island during the traffic-choked summer season, even more stunningly, they were rebuffed by the Vineyard governor Marc Hanover, who suggested that limiting traffic to the Vineyard could amount to some form of discrimination.
By the boat line’s own numbers, the volume of vehicles transported by Steamship Authority ferries has ticked up steadily over the past decade. SSA management has repeatedly said its objective is not to increase traffic to the Island, but a cynic might reasonably question that assurance.
More likely, senior SSA managers — well-intentioned, no doubt, but feeling pressure to get things done — are simply focused on checking boxes instead of pausing to consider the broader implications of their actions. With a passive board of governors that has apparently forgotten its role as a critical check on management, the boat line that was chartered to be the Island’s lifeline now appears to be drifting precariously from its central mission: to provide dependable year-round ferry service to the residents of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission has begun its own examination of the SSA in the context of regional planning initiative that will study carrying capacity and how it relates to growing peak summer traffic problems on the Island.
And an independent evaluation of operations by a group of Seattle marine consultants that began in July and is due to be complete next month will hopefully shed more light on how the authority is being run and offer constructive solutions.
Ultimately, it is up to Islanders to make clear what they need and expect from the boat line. Let’s start with a terminal that reflects the aesthetics, values and needs of people who actually live here.
Comments
I believe it is important for
Patrick Sherbrooke CohassetI believe it is important for the SSA to remember who they are chartered to serve, to respect the views and opinions of islanders who rely on their service, and to provide that service reliably. This does not include active promotion, or unneeded expense of unwanted advertising. Cut the ad budget, and focus on reliable service, please.
Thank you
well said!
Alan Fairfield, CTwell said!
Fifty years ago a dear friend
Ginny WTFifty years ago a dear friend with considerable maritime knowledge and experience) viewed the large SSA decal that had just been issued with profound skepticism and concern. I wish that I still had that decal but after several moves and many years it has disappeared. The gist of the caption on the original decal, featuring a picture of a historic vessel and the caption was: "Steamship authority: lifeline to the islands since the 1800's" or something similar. He immediately pasted up his version which read: "Steamship Authority: strangle hold on the islands since 1840." How true. The SSA is constantly at the extreme edge of their bonding limit and, if there is a deficit, the islands get to pick up the tab! Think of that being added to the amount of your annual real estate taxes!
In fact, the amount of traffic on this poor island in the summer is way over the bounds of livability not to mention our [mental] health and safety. That is spreading into the other months as well. Long gone are the days of easy travel, particularly if a vessel is storm bound or broken down which produces a huge clot and back log of vehicles all trying to travel. The preferential reservation system for islanders is routinely abused by seasonal home owners who register to vote in order to be eligible. I have guestimated that in some towns about 20% of the names on the voting list are of folks who signed up solely to be eligible for preferential reservationtreatment. So much for the attempt to give islanders a way to travel easily for various purposes such as college and school visits, medical appointments, shopping, cultural events or even an off-island vacation without the necessity of purchasing a road worthy vehicle to park on the other side for trips to America.
Our poor island is beleaguered by the vast number of vehicles (many quite large) which clog the roads in summer, and increasingly year round. For the Farmer's Market in West Tisbury on some Saturdays this past summer cars were routinely backed up almost to the Airport on the Edg-WT road, or to the Quansoo Road on South Road.
Since the SSA is our lifeline, please return it to its original purposes of transporting islanders and goods and cut out the massive spending as well as promoting ever more tourism.
everyone i talk to in is
Amy oak bluffseveryone i talk to in is agreement that there are too many cars here in the summer. the real question is, aside from complaining about it, what specifically can we do about it???
Islanders would be wise to
TAD ChappyIslanders would be wise to scrutinize each board member individually as to their actions in populating Martha's Vineyard. Words alone are no longer reliable. See the Field Club in Katama as an example. The Gazette would serve us all by publishing the TSA charter so we can assess the performance of each of our representatives for ourselves.
Good idea Tad -- for starters
Ginny MVGood idea Tad -- for starters perhaps the islands board members should be businessmen or business women who are NOT in the tourist or second home/real estate business.
Do the residents of Nantucket
Ed Katama/Saratoga SpringsDo the residents of Nantucket have the same complaints/concerns about the SSA?
As was said often in the 1970
Paul Kirby Worcester MA, Pine Point, MEAs was said often in the 1970's and still holds true today - - "The Steamship Authority is not as authority on steamships". The round-trip tickets from MVY to the mainland and back were affordable back in those days. What happened?
Please sign this petition if
N Trumbull Woods HolePlease sign this petition if you object to the scale or height of the proposed design of the new terminal building in Woods Hole. Go to: www.steamshipauthority.info
Although I have been visiting
Warren Clearwater, FLAlthough I have been visiting family on the island for many years in the summer, I live in another area of the country where the seasonal residents and visitors really push the limits of our roads and infrastructure. In the middle of the winter, it is impossible to get anywhere fast and easy or get a reservation for dinner. The traffic is crazy and the driving safety is a major concern.. However, without this tourism, our business community would not be able to thrive. It's a double edged sword. The summer visitors and residents in the Vineyard make life for the residents very difficult but your economy is based upon it.
With respect to Warren from
islandgirl islandWith respect to Warren from Clearwater, your tourist economy is spread over a much larger part of the year and it may actually work to support the residents. On this island the tourist economy -- the shops, hotels and food establishments are basically trying to provide 12 months of income from 2 or 2.5 months of work. That type of work carries with it no benefits and Many jobs are taken by students -- from the island certainly, but often from other parts of the country and/or world. Obviously there are huge discrepancies and people struggle to fill in the rest of the months. As to the second home rental I would estimate that the vast majority of rentals are houses owned by folks from other parts of the country and very little of that income "sticks" on the Vineyard except for landscapers and some service/construction jobs where a lot of the money leaves the island as well.
I've been an island
Michangelo BostonI've been an island vacationer for decades, both summer and winter, and would love to see more interest put into fall/wintertime tourism. Of course, Islanders need a break from the crazy summer onslaught that descends upon YOUR home, but certain areas of the island could feature numerous winter activities to encourage a 12-month economy. As you all know, MV is beautiful in winter.
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