The North Tisbury bridge, West Tisbury’s narrow pass over the Mill Brook, could soon be widened. Planning board administrator Jane Rossi presented a new concept for the bridge to the select board Wednesday afternoon.
The North Tisbury bridge, West Tisbury’s narrow pass over the Mill Brook, could soon be widened.
Planning board administrator Jane Rossi presented a new concept for the bridge to the select board Wednesday afternoon under the state’s complete streets funding program. The concept for the bridge includes bike paths and widened vehicle lanes.
The existing bridge is 24 feet wide, with lanes of about 10 feet. The new concept would expand car lanes to 12 feet and add five-foot bike lanes on either side.
“This would provide, certainly, breathing room for vehicles and pedestrians as well,” Ms. Rossi said.
She added the expansion aims to make the bridge a bit safer for runners, pedestrians and bikers to get across. The bridge is notorious for its narrow lanes.
Select board member Skip Manter said he runs across the bridge often, and would like to see it altered.
“Anything’s an improvement there,” he said. He added that many people already walk, bike and run across the bridge, speculating that expanding it wouldn’t attract more pedestrian traffic.
“The people are there now,” he said.
Ms. Rossi said other concepts for the bridge were considered including added partitions between the vehicle lanes and bike lanes, and a completely separate bridge for bikes and pedestrians. But she said plans for the bridge became unwieldy.
“It just seems to get wider and wider,” she said. She added the current concept for the bridge is one that will mitigate existing safety hazards, while anticipating the behavior of cyclists and pedestrians. A separate shared use bridge, she argued, could be ignored by pedestrians and cyclists.
“The benefit of this [plan] is it reflects the reality of what people will do,” she said.
Still, Mr. Manter argued the plan could use some work, stressing that a partition between shared use and car lanes is vital.
“There needs to be something there,” he said.
Also on the table for the North Tisbury bridge is a reduction of the speed limit from 35 to 30 mph. Planning for the bridge is ongoing, Ms. Rossi said. She added the current concept is only a draft. A site visit will be held with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation on April 5 to further the planning process for the bridge.
“Good luck in some adjustments, maybe, as you move forward,” Mr. Manter said.
Comments
I Drive this Road 3-6 times a
Sam EdgartownI Drive this Road 3-6 times a day, sometimes more in a 10 wheeler, never a problem....Plus with the price of fuel we will be all walking...
My fear is that attempts to
Mr. B ChilmarkMy fear is that attempts to make it "safer" will have the opposite effect. Such "improvements" will simply make people feel safer, and they will act accordingly, paying less attention, driving more quickly, assuming all is "just fine now." Want to make it safer? Make it scarier so that people will be driving slowly and on their toes: take out the lines on and approaching the bridge and reduce the speed to 20 mph. That will wake them up.
Curious, How many TREES will
JohannaCurious, How many TREES will need to come down to make it ‘safer’
Shrink the space for cars and
Geoffrey L West TisburyShrink the space for cars and trucks, and force them to drive slower. Make bike lanes larger. Otherwise all the talk about going carbon neutral means nothing.
Lived near there for years.
Kathleen New YorkLived near there for years. Lowering the speed limit is the first step.
We need less cars and trucks
Seth ChilmarkWe need less cars and trucks on the road.
The amount of SUV the size of tanks driving around the island with one person inside makes me ill.
Save the planet while we can…. I bought an electric car it’s coming no more combustion engines….
Why is this a concern for the
Sandy OBWhy is this a concern for the planning board agenda?? I am confused?
I think they should start
Richard Hertz WEST TISBURYI think they should start small and fix the pot hole on the north side of the bridge that has been there since Ed Panick was running the HWY Dept
The ONLY kind of bike lane
Adele West TisburyThe ONLY kind of bike lane that actually makes cyclists and pedestrians safer has a physical barrier (bollards, trees, guardrails). Printed bike lanes (and inconsistent, ephemeral bike lanes) show nearly NO improvement in safety for non-motorists. The verdict has been clear and unanimous on this point for years in planning research. I appreciate Mr. Manter's urging that a physical barrier is a necessity.
Unfortunately, adding bike infrastructure to this bridge, whether a widened shoulder (not safe) to a separated path, will still make the experience of a cyclist or pedestrian on State Rd go from very dangerous --> still very dangerous, since 99% of State Rd will still lack any protected lanes for non-motorists.
Also, please remember when debating bicycle infrastructure on the Vineyard that it's not just spandex-wearing hobby cyclists who can choose to have their outing in a variety of locations. Bicycles are a normal form of transportation in lots of places for many kinds of people, and State Rd is a main artery of the island for people to get from their house to work/school/shopping. It's truly sad that the island is so steeped in car culture that people have forgotten that bikes aren't just a recreational object that you put on your car to bring to a path to ride. Many, many more people would regularly bike (or walk) if State Rd had infrastructure that kept us safe and separated from cars.
I don’t understand how this
AM 02539I don’t understand how this is a priority item. Drop the speed limit for a trial period (2 years?) and see if that makes progress on the desired fronts. There are plenty of other more worthy uses of municipal capital.
Underneath the current
Thomas Hodgson wtUnderneath the current crossing is a beautiful, centuries-old cut-granite bridge. How might that be affected by this proposal? If you want to protect pedestrians and bikers, how about making simple and lightweight bridges, 4-6' wide, on each side of the existing roadway? For an example, consider the bridge that runs along the WT-Edg. Road, in the outskirts of Edgartown, across from Lily Pond.
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