Five Corners in Vineyard Haven defies planning logic because there never was a plan or logic, just the slow evolution into disorder at Martha’s Vineyard’s busiest roadway hub — it just happened.
It might not have been much of a problem more than a century ago, when Islanders and visitors traveled through this intersection on horseback and in carriages without benefit of cell phones and GPS gizmos. Today they navigate it with horsepower — in SUVs, Hummers, Priuses, and every other manner of vehicle.
Any talk about taking steps to create some order out of the disorder elicits a variety of responses from Islanders. There are those residents who are resigned to the chaos and shrug it off as an inconvenience to be endured about two months of the year, much as they did with four corners until, after a decade of silliness, the roundabout went in and lo and behold, the inconvenience of long backups evaporated.
For some, Five Corners is a badge of Vineyard honor. It a testament to our unique quirkiness that we tolerate such a roadway mess — see how crazy it is, they say with glee, as they show their guests the Island sights.
Combine Five Corners with traffic arriving and departing from the Vineyard Haven Steamship Authority terminal, with the three-way intersection of State Road, Look Street, and Edgartown–Vineyard Haven, and with continued growth, and you have a recipe for gridlock, now and into the future.
In a story published last week (Dec. 31, “Study offers keys to unlock Five Corner, Look Street intersection”), Janet Hefler reported on a study commissioned by MassDOT and conducted by Greenman-Pedersen Inc. (GPI), an engineering and construction services firm, that was released last March and generated little public attention.
However, to their credit, Tisbury, regional, and state officials acted on several of the study’s recommendations.
Last spring, the Steamship Authority completed the reconfiguration of the Vineyard Haven terminal staging area, which included the addition of a second check-in booth to alleviate traffic backups during ferry arrival and departure times.
In September, Tisbury moved ahead with a trial reversal of traffic flow on Union Street. In November, selectmen agreed to continue the trial, which now provides an alternative route for vehicles leaving the Stop and Shop and terminal area. It is a change that has proven its worth.
Meanwhile, utility workers have been laying the groundwork that will allow for the removal of four utility poles on the north side of Beach Street, between Water Street and Main Street in Vineyard Haven, that now protrude into the roadway and have claimed untold numbers of vehicle side mirrors. The day those hazards disappear should be cause for celebration, and provide motivation for another change the study suggested for consideration: remove the expanse of brick in front of the post office in order to create a dedicated left-turn lane off Beach Road onto Water Street.
It ought to be relatively straightforward, as much as any road work can be, and would have some tangible benefits.
Easterly traffic flow is often slowed or stopped while a SSA terminal–bound driver waits for a break in westbound traffic so he or she can make a left turn.
That break often occurs when a driver coming from the opposite direction takes a right to get to the terminal, and only if a driver exiting Lagoon Avenue does not make a dash for freedom — ah, that lovable Island quirkiness.
“It was also noted that this intersection works only because drivers make eye contact with one another and wave each other on,” the report said. “Although this sense of ‘politeness’ keeps the intersection moving, it may also be contributable to various types of collisions that occur at the intersection.”
Has anyone noticed that the ability to even make eye contact is rapidly disappearing? Increasingly, eyes are hidden behind sunglasses or focused on text messages. Is there an app for eye contact?
The study also raised the possibility of a modified roundabout. That is a novel idea, one that has proven its worth. A new Stop and Shop has a better chance of being built sooner.
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