<p>The state has doled out some $7.2 million in federal and state aid for pedestrian and bicycle paths between Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, as part of a transportation grant package announced last month.</p>
The state has doled out some $7.2 million in federal and state aid for pedestrian and bicycle paths between Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, as part of a transportation grant package announced last month.
A bill allocating the funds was signed into law June 6.
Summer traffic bottlenecks are acute near the drawbridge.
Summer traffic bottlenecks are acute near the drawbridge.
The project to improve Beach Road beginning at Five Corners will receive $4.7 million. An additional $2.5 million will go toward extending a shared use path for pedestrians and bicycles from the drawbridge on Beach Road past the hospital to County Road in Oak Bluffs.
Martha’s Vineyard Commission senior planner Bill Veno said the funds will help to accomplish Islandwide transportation planning goals established by the joint transportation committee.
“Certainly it’s trying to connect the two port towns where people arrive,” Mr. Veno said. “A lot of those people are coming on bicycles.”
The Island’s network of bike paths dates to 1975, Mr. Veno said. A 2009 study identified critical gaps in bicycle infrastructure, most notably the thoroughfare between Tisbury and Oak Bluffs.
Mr. Veno noted that one of the Island’s major employers, the hospital, is also located along the route.
“It’s an alternative way of getting around and there are people who actually commute by bicycle,” Mr. Veno said.
Shared use path has been partially completed on Vineyard Haven side of the drawbridge.
Shared use path has been partially completed on Vineyard Haven side of the drawbridge.
The Tisbury section of the project is already at the 100 per cent phase with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The project will begin at Five Corners and extend to Wind’s Up, widening sidewalks, moving utility poles out of pedestrian walkways, and creating space for bicycle traffic. A shared bicycle and pedestrian path will begin in front of the Tisbury Marketplace and extend to meet the existing path at Wind’s Up.
The two projects will connect bike paths to the drawbridge between the two towns. The bridge project was completed in 2016 with state funds.
“The bridge was designed with the shared use path on it, so now we want to get these other sections in on either side of the bridge,” Mr. Veno said.
The Beach Road project can now be put out to bid.
The Oak Bluffs section of path is at the 25 per cent planning phase.
Comments
What will be done with five
Christine VHWhat will be done with five corners? We need a rotary, it’s the only way to move the traffic.
The Martha's Vineyard
Frank Brunelle Vineyard HavenThe Martha's Vineyard Commission has listed five corners as a dangerous place for cyclists. However, cyclists disagree. Five corners is a complex intersection but it works and for cyclists the beauty of it is that everything slows down and people take their time to judge whether to go ahead or not. The new Shared Use Path will be a problem but five corners will benefit from the road being expanded for cyclists with increased shoulder widths and wider sidewalks both of which are legal to ride on. Ask bicycle shop owners like John Stephenson at Cycle Works on State Road near Cronig's to get a cyclists view on this.
Why bother unless bicycles
here we go again edgWhy bother unless bicycles are required to use them. I'm tired of dodging the aggressive cyclists on the west Tisbury road who refuse to use the bike paths and interfere with auto traffic. These cyclists in their black spandex with dentist mirrors on their glasses should be banned from the roads and restricted to bike paths.
I totally agree. There
Darrell King Edgartown/BelmontI totally agree. There should be a state law (or home rule petition) that wherever a bike path exists next to a road or highway it HAS to be used and the highway CANNOT be used. All this money for the excellent bike paths and these idiots insist on riding with the cars, endangering not only themselves but the drivers of the automobiles as well. Another idea comes to mind as well. Whenever a bus attempts to pull back onto the road after making a stop it should have the exclusive right of way to do so. A swing-out sign similar to those on school buses might do the trick. This would improve the efficiency of our bus system.
"You may ride your bicycle on
Islander Too"You may ride your bicycle on any public road, street, or bikeway in the Commonwealth, except limited access or express state highways where signs specifically prohibiting bikes have been posted."
For other rules governing use of bikes in Mass, see here:
https://www.massbike.org/laws
edg:
DT Aquinnahedg:
Nice crack about my clothing. I don't dis your's. I don't even complain that you have mirrors on your gas-guzzler. If the path along West Tisbury-Edgartown Road was not so rutted, more cyclists would use it.
Stick to the topic.
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