<p>A petition from Falmouth residents has forced the SSA to schedule a public hearing Monday afternoon on its proposed 2020 operating schedule.</p>
A petition signed by 50 Falmouth residents has forced the Steamship Authority to schedule a public hearing Monday afternoon on its proposed summer 2020 operating schedule, which includes a 5:30 a.m. freight boat from Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard.
“We object to the scheduling of freight from Woods Hole prior to 6 a.m. due to the sleep deprivation caused by the early morning noise impact of Steamship Authority-related freight trucks on Falmouth and Woods Hole residents,” the petition reads.
Under the state enabling act that brought the SSA into existence in 1960, the boat line is required to publish its proposed operating schedules in advance of approving them and to hold a hearing when at least 50 port town residents sign up to request it.
People living near the Woods Hole terminal and along Woods Hole Road have long complained about ferry-related truck traffic past their homes.
But while these Falmouth residents oppose the early-morning freight trip, selectmen in at least two Vineyard towns are lining up against the opposition. At recent meetings, Tisbury and Aquinnah selectmen both agreed to write the Steamship Authority in support of retaining the 5:30 a.m. Vineyard-bound freight boat next year.
Monday’s hearing on the proposed summer, 2020 ferry schedule begins at 4 p.m. in the auditorium at Falmouth High School. The hearing notice, the petition and the proposed schedule are posted on the Steamship Authority website.
Boat line governors are expected to vote on the proposed schedule at their next regular meeting, set for Sept. 24 at the Nantucket Whaling Museum.
Comments
Two important clarifications
Nat Trumbull Woods HoleTwo important clarifications about the Falmouth resident request for a public hearing. 1) The PETITION REQUEST IS NOT TO CANCEL the 3-year-old 5:30AM daily ferry run from Vineyard Haven to Woods Hole; 2) NOR IS THE PETITION REQUEST TO CANCEL the five-year-old 5:30AM daily ferry run from Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven. The petition concerns the SSA's scheduling of 12-15 heavy and noisy freight trucks, up to 40' in length, that pass through our residential neighborhoods in Falmouth and Woods Hole beginning at 4:45AM on a daily basis in order to make the 5:30AM ferry on which the SSA now seeks to schedule them. Hundreds of Falmouth families live in those neighborhoods. In many cases we have lived in our homes for decades. To repeat, the petition is NOT ABOUT CANCELING BOATS but about the proposed scheduling of heavy and noisy FREIGHT TRUCKS so early through our residential neighborhoods. It is NOT about passengers and cars on the 5:30AM ferries. Let the passengers and cars flow as early as Vineyard residents need to make their off-island medical appointments and Logan flights on the 5:30AM ferries. Why can't Vineyard residents have sympathy for Falmouth residents' trials and tribulations with heavy and noisy freight trucks being scheduled by the SSA so early in our neighborhoods on a daily basis? Don't Vineyard residents also have children who need a good night of sleep before school?
Nat you summarized your
Adam Vineyard HavenNat you summarized your problem. You have lived there for a decade. The SA has been there for 60 years. Same principle as live near a park expect to hear the noise of children playing
Some people have lived in
Patricia FalmouthSome people have lived in Woods Hole for decades before the Steamship Authority came to town. There is not just one truck that comes through but dozens that travel down the road all day long; not to mention the ones that pull off the road illegally to wait their turns on the ferry. I lived in NYC and living on Woods Hole Road always reminded me of living on Woodhaven Blvd on Queens. And dream on about making people drive the speed limit.
Sorry, Adam, Nay lives in a
Tim FalmouthSorry, Adam, Nay lives in a family home purchased before 1960. But that's beside the point. Trucks at 4:45am are an unnecessary and unhealthy burden on Falmouth residents. Furthermore, trucks sitting in bridge traffic are a regional air quality burden and global climate burden. Let's revisit a freight run from New Bedford.
Patricia -- Seriously? I
T Bone Oak BluffsPatricia -- Seriously? I lived in Queens for 7 years. Nothing, and I mean nothing, about Woods Hole is like Queens. Talk about drama. Writing a statement like that really weakens any argument you're trying to make.
Why would you buy a home on a
here we go again edgWhy would you buy a home on a busy road and then complain about the traffic? Move next to an airport and complain about jet noise? Move next to a school and complain about the sports teams? Give it a break
This is BS. Woods Hole Road
Josh S. FalmouthThis is BS. Woods Hole Road is not a "residential road" Its the primary commercial avenue between the outside world and the village of woods hole and the multiple towns on Marthas Vineyard. Sleep with some ear plugs or a white noise machine and stop making other people pay for your bad decisions on where to live.
get them on and off the
bobget them on and off the island before daily traffic ramps up. the complaint isn't idling at the SSA, but that they drive through? how many houses are actually on the road to the terminal? how loud is a passing truck?
if you want to keep noise down, enact a lower speed limit for trucks and have it actively enforced
If you ask why live near a
Christpher Santa Fe.NMIf you ask why live near a busy road and complain about 4am traffic..you also have to ask why live on an island where EVERYTHING has to be shipped in...the noise starts once those trucks cross the bridge...it is miles of traffic and noise...it is not the same as don't live by the airport. It sounds like S.A. trying to grab more bucks.
If the Steamship Authority
Nat Trumbull Woods HoleEfficiencies and lower costs in the U.S. comes from our competitive free market. If the Steamship Authority were thinking ahead and were not so protective of its monopoly position for delivering freight to the Vineyard, the Steamship Authority would already be actively developing service from other off-Cape ports. Studies demonstrate that only approx. two to three percent (2-3%) of the much higher prices of goods and services on the islands comes as a result of ferry costs (hard to believe, I know, but see MVC transportation and other reports on this; the remainder is, ahem, retail margin). In any case competitive freight service to the islands would bring lower shipping expenses as competitive third-party shippers deliver freight less expensively than the Steamship Authority despite longer water distances from off-Cape ports. If the Steamship Authority is not interested in developing its own off-Cape freight delivery to the islands, as appears to be the case, the Steamship Authority needs to share the ball with others.
No, the SSA is a state
T Bone Oak BluffsNo, the SSA is a state chartered authority. It doesn't need to do anything you suggest.
Thank you to Falmouth for
Just say - "Thank you" FalmouthThank you to Falmouth for allowing themselves to be used as a doormat for decades. The charter may give the Authority dictatorial powers like usurping some of Falmouth's best commercial and industrial land for use by as tax exempt parking, dock and office space in order to serve, not the residents of Martha's Vineyard but the thousands of "lifeline" visitors. Over the years their doormat status has cost the people of Falmouth millions in lost revenue and opportunity. The Authority has the power to invade residential areas in ways no other entity would be allowed in order to provide "lifeline" products like thousands of tons of landscaping material (full grown trees,cobblestones, swimming pools)..."lifeline services like semis hauling millions of tons of compostable garbage, trash and ...almost unbelievably, sewage. Excuse me..."provide" is a deceptive description because it implies there is no alternative..the phrase should be "provide at the lowest possible cost to a group of people too lazy, stupid or self-involved to compost their garbage and control growth in a responsible manner." Maybe you all should set some limits. People in Falmouth are not at all like those who move next to Logan airport and complain about plane noise, when I arrived in Falmouth there was an abandoned rail line where there is now parking, a lumber store where there is now parking, a skating rink where there is now parking and 50 acres of industrially zoned land where there is now parking. The Authority has expanded its impact on Falmouth and appears to have no intention of limiting or seriously addressing that impact. The planners of the Vineyard appear to lack the skill, mandate or desire to control growth on the island (or maybe control your trash a bit?). It is one thing let greed and incompetence destroy your own homes but don't expect us to continue sitting by while you destroy ours. The charter DOES grant pretty much unlimited power to the Authority but its mandate is very limited and has been massively overstepped. It is no longer a matter of being a "Lifeline" now it is all about entitlement and greed. Sorry, it is time for Falmouth to act in its own interest for a change, you were given a gift and messed it up. The charter can be revised and will be.
What a magnificent letter.
Diane EdgartownWhat a magnificent letter. You are so right. As a vineyard resident I am appalled by the number of landscape trucks,etc. It is shameful what has been allowed to happen to our beautiful island. We need to put a moratorium on all of the building. I am afraid it won’t happen because people have become so self absorbed. Example the home sizes have become insane for two months of living and the fact that people can’t watch a tree grow they need to have them fully grown to enjoy. It’s all very sad to watch because I am not sure there is enjoyment in any of what has been produced. Please Falmouth do shut us done and save us from ourselves. I for one would be extremely thankful.
I wonder if the problem could
Bill FalmouthI wonder if the problem could be addressed with a change in the mix of vehicles on the ferries. Assuming that the issue is making more efficient the delivery of goods by truck, perhaps the SSA could keep the early ferry exclusively for cars. The 6:00 could be exclusively for trucks. I’m not close enough to the problem to have a good answer, but merely suggesting there may be other ways to think about it.
Thank you Nat for taking on
John Woods HoleThank you Nat for taking on this inconsiderate organization. I'm sorry I'm not there to sink my own teeth deeply into its ankle.
I sympathize with both sides
JB VHI sympathize with both sides and see the problems/challenges for both. As a long-time Vineyard resident and vacationer I have seen dramatic changes in traffic volumes and noises levels over the last 40+ years.
The essential problem is increased traffic demands stemming from increased tourism on-island, increased year-round residents, and their demand requirements for goods and services. A similar problem is occurring on-island as well with complaints about traffic congestion, volumes, flows, and noise.
There's no magic solution and restricting travel and access - limiting on-island residents and visitors to a set number of vehicles is dictatorial and totalitarian - very much against the US founding principle's of personal liberty and freedom rights.
However, a possible suggestion is to establish a freight-service only (or primarily) ferry location and service to/from Martha's Vineyard. I think it's time to consider building a 4-season docking facility in Oak Bluffs on the island to support increased freight and vehicular demands. This could/should coincide with an alternate vehicular ferry location for freight service - whether that's in Falmouth Harbor (with the current passenger ferries) or somewhere nearer the Bourne Bridge and rotary (or even in New Bedford or Fall River).
We need to consider non-traditional traffic options but limiting travel and vehicles only negatively impacts all parties and the local economies on both sides of the Vineyard Sound.
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