The Vineyard should be a refuge from stress, an Island oasis where Islanders and off-Islanders can recharge their batteries.
The Vineyard should be a refuge from stress, an Island oasis where Islanders and off-Islanders can recharge their batteries and commune with the beauty of God’s creation. This is how I have felt since my first Vineyard trip in 1972.
Many Islanders do not want traffic lights because they symbolize “mainland sensibilities.” I get that.
However, the lights would ease at least some of the congestion and reduce stress relatively inexpensively with minimal environmental impact.
Here is a small but fun and creative solution:
Create a contest to make the traffic lights and posts into public art pieces.
Artists, crafts people or anyone could enter his or her original designs online. The judges could be famous artists, designers, etc., many of whom live on or visit the Island.
No cash prizes need to be awarded. The “prize” for each artist would be the legacy of having a permanent piece of public art on Martha’s Vineyard. A plaque would be attached to the posts of each winning creation with the artist’s name and title of said piece. As an artist myself, I’d love this!
Local Vineyard artisans would fabricate the lights and poles. Of course they would have to be paid for their time and materials. There are many grants available at the local, state and federal levels for public art projects. There is also an abundance of private public art grant money available.
The poles and lights would have to follow the public safety and durability standards that I am are already in place. Surely, with all of creativity and professional expertise on the Island, this little stumbling block could be overcome.
For the folks who hate the idea of those nasty mainland light contraptions, this offers a possible solution. Instead of proudly stating that “we have no traffic lights,” they now could boast of having the most charming, creative, artistic and stress reducing traffic lights in the world!
Hey, if it works out, maybe other communities would follow the pioneering efforts of the greatest Island in the world, Martha’s Vineyard.
Just food for thought.
Comments
Maybe the root of the problem
Outside Observer ChilmarkMaybe the root of the problem is just the opposite. Everyone is frantically recharging the wrong batteries! The smart phone phenomenon has turned huge swaths of the population into connectivity addicts. People tell me all the time they couldn't live without their precious little devices. For them, a walk on the beach at sunset is no longer possible without cell service. How very sad.
it would be great if 'thoes
flounder bob chilmark/berlinit would be great if 'thoes percious little devices' were made muted, and just wonder if our kiddies and a life w/o texting-mobiltv-videos-cd's- soda-.. i did and i love that old ways, miss it too. im moving to the mountains and gonna live off the land till i die.
I say, leave your cell phone
Earth Lover MVI say, leave your cell phone at home, everybody slow down, BREATHE... get outside, look each ofher in the eyes, talk to each other, laugh, look at the sky, listen for the music and the healthy rhythms of Mother Earth laugh more, walk barefoot, swim naked, hug, touch, play, wallk or ride your bike, get rid of the cars and go back, to the horse.
Fewer cars would ease traffic
Cheryl Burns Oak BluffsFewer cars would ease traffic congestation. We have an excellent public transit system here. I find it relaxing to sit back and enjoy the scenery or engage in conversations with interesting people from all over the world. Another plus - no need to circle around town looking for a parking place or leaving the beach because no parking is available. Thereis even a Menemsha sunset bus. Imagine how stress free life can be knowing you cancan get anywhere you want without the hassle of driving or looking for parking spaces. Aaah, yes.
Yup, we need lights so we can
PaulB EdgartownYup, we need lights so we can get to where we are going faster! Isn't that what Island time is all about?....NOT!
What nonsense, creative traffic lights!
I agree that creative traffic
Jo-jo CTI agree that creative traffic lights are nonsense. Ye gads, how cute-sy to you want to become? I think stopping at intersections and taking turns to go next can be a teaching tool in courteous driving. No need to promote drivers who robotically stop on red and proceed on green...or yellow.
Stop lights only work if they
Bob Cler EdgartownStop lights only work if they are in succession. One light in the middle of a main road completely stops traffic. This causes even a bigger back up. Just stop and think what happens when you have a policeman directing traffic for a work crew. And that is usually not at an intersection, the traffic backs up.
The Vineyard is a real place
Susanna J. Sturgis West TisburyThe Vineyard is a real place where real people lead real lives all year-round. Some stress comes with the territory. Much of our year-round stress, however, can be traced to the scarcity of year-round housing, the hassle of moving twice a year if we can't find it, and the challenge of paying for it if we can. The high cost of housing is directly related to the well-heeled summer people who pay big bucks for houses where they can come and unwind from the stress of their high-pressure off-island lives. These houses then sit vacant 8 or 9 months of every year. Traffic lights and even bypass roads aren't going to solve this problem. What if the off-islanders led sustainable lives that didn't deplete their batteries so badly. Yeah, I know: the island economy, which is addicted to off-islanders' money, would fall apart -- or maybe it would shrink down to a sustainable level that didn't stress us all out. Who knows?
I agree 100% with everything
Maribeth Vineyard HavenI agree 100% with everything you wrote Susanna, if you hadn't already said it so well, I would have. Genius.
Thank you Susanna!
Year round resident EdgartownThank you Susanna!
Well said, Susanna.
Louisa Hufstader Oak BluffsWell said, Susanna.
I love the idea of
Berta West TisburyI love the idea of incorporating art into traffic function. As I drove on the Edgartown / Tisbury Rd this morning I pictured the huge ugly telephone polls as painted and it made me smile! As a year round resident the idea of traffic lights is appealing because they can be turned on and off as needed during different seasons and times of the day.
Isn't it true that traffic
Doug Ulwick Oak BluffsIsn't it true that traffic control devices cannot be installed at random, that studies need to show an dequate volume of traffic to justify automated signaling? Wasn't it written that traffic lights were not an option at the roundabout location because the traffic studies didn't warrant such signaling ?
I think we already have a
Matthew West TisburyI think we already have a working example of the solution on island. The roundabout on Barnes Rd, which (despite needless, and somewhat humorous, pre-installation fears) has been a huge success. Aesthetically pleasing, safe (for drivers and bicyclists alike), inexpensive to build/maintain, and keeps the traffic flowing. No more stop-and-go backups which, by the way, also reduces car pollutants and saves gas... and perhaps reduces stress for some.
I know Susanna and am an off
Lucia Giuttari New Meadows, N.J.I know Susanna and am an off islander who does lead a sustainable life and doesn't deplete batteries.Over 47 yrs ago, my sister who was vacationing on the Cape with our Mom & Dad as her guests, took them over to MV for an evening of excellent summer stock theater, for a great meal & returned to Cape home that very same evening w/o a hitch..try to do that today. When my husband & I found the Menemsha Inn and cottages in the NY Times over 33 yrs ago,we called its proprietor, Mrs. Thompson who gave us an immediate reservation, we got our steamship tickets and the rest is history.We returned each year because of its beauty,and peaceful way of life which lived up to the true meaning of a wonderful vacation. I stay away from town, get my reading from the Chilmark and Edgartown libraries, do try to get reservation in a great restaurant once or twice & enjoy the surroundings. I'm not a tourist whom your economy relies upon..sorry to say..I do so wish MV could be as it was in the early 80s. Crowded is not descriptive enough..when I was young-a medical staff adm..there was one MD who owned a 38 ft sloop..he invited so many of young females aboard including me..I told him if we all accepted, his sloop would sink at the dock. Can that happen to MV? (only kidding)
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