SSA gets an earful from Island truckers on New Bedford service

At the Steamship Authority meeting held in Oak Bluffs Tuesday, Island truckers rejected the notion of New Bedford service as too costly.

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Trucker John Leite of JWL Transport and MV Salvage in Oak Bluffs said, “I don’t think we should disrupt the whole Steamship Authority and freight to the Vineyard because we’ve got some people that don’t want to realize that they bought property on a major route, a state highway.” — Nelson Sigelman

In the bad weather winter months, the Steamship Authority members stick close to headquarters in Woods Hole, but when the weather improves, the board takes to the road for its monthly business meetings, presenting port residents with an opportunity to comment on boatline policies.

On Tuesday, the SSA met in Oak Bluffs, and Island shippers took full advantage of the local venue to express the view that a resurfaced idea of a freight link between New Bedford and Martha’s Vineyard had not worked in the past and would not work in the future. In a related vein, in the face of what they said was increasing traffic congestion, two residents asked the boatline to limit the number of vehicles it brings to the Island.

The meeting was also notable for the anticlimactic announcement by SSA general manager Wayne Lamson that he will retire in June 2017 — the news had preceded the Tuesday meeting. Marc Hanover, Vineyard SSA member, and longtime authority member Robert O’Brien of Barnstable, a veteran of earlier searches, were named to a subcommittee that will include two members of the port council, to oversee the search process for Mr. Lamson’s successor.

There was discussion of hiring a professional search firm to assist in the search, which does not preclude promotion from within the authority. The widely respected Mr. Lamson was named interim manager four times before he was tapped for the top post.

Cars, not trucks
Last October, Falmouth member and current SSA chairman Elizabeth Gladfelter, supported by Oak Bluffs and Tisbury officials, asked SSA management to re-examine the issues surrounding a potential Vineyard–New Bedford freight service link, intended to siphon off heavy truck traffic from Woods Hole Road in Falmouth.

In April, the SSA presented a preliminary report on the feasibility of freight service between the Island and New Bedford. The report recommended a further examination of several proposals, including a barge and tug service for freight trucks between New Bedford and the Vineyard; exploration of interest on the part of a private operator; and efforts to gauge support among the appropriate local, regional, and state agencies for freight service, to include funding for the construction and maintenance of a freight ferry terminal, and possible subsidies.

The reawakened notion of siphoning off truck traffic comes against the backdrop of complaints to the SSA from Woods Hole residents about early-morning noise from truck traffic. In response, the SSA has put increasing restrictions on truck drivers, who now are not allowed to enter and park in the SSA Woods Hole parking lot before 5 am.

On Tuesday, Mr. Lamson said the authority had received only three public comments on its preliminary report, one of which was from A.J. Clarke of JP Noonan Transportation, who said the increased time associated with a New Bedford trip would reduce productivity and increase costs.

Clarence “Trip” Barnes, longtime Island trucker and member of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, said Island truckers “were very much on the same page” with Noonan regarding truck service out of New Bedford.

“I just can’t understand why you’re not talking about car service,” Mr. Barnes said. “All my business comes from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut. That’s where those people come from. They would love to get on a boat in New Bedford and go for a nice ride to get to the Vineyard in their car, but truckers don’t want to go over there; it takes too much time off of your day.”

John Leite of JWL Transport and MV Auto Salvage in Oak Bluffs said New Bedford truck service was tried, and it did not work. He agreed that car service might be more practical.

Mr. Leite said it had become increasingly difficult to make truck reservations. “We have a couple of disgruntled neighbors,” Mr. Leite, a former Oak Bluffs selectman, said. “I don’t think we should disrupt the whole Steamship Authority and freight to the Vineyard because we’ve got some people who don’t want to realize that they bought property on a major route, a state highway … for the life of me I’m not even sure why we’re having this discussion other than I think we’re trying to be sympathetic to those people — sympathy goes to a certain point, and then common sense has to prevail, and the simple fact of the matter is Woods Hole works for trucks.”

Asked to quantify the number of Woods Hole residents pressing the SSA over its truck policies, Mr. Lamson put the figure at about 12.

Asked if the SSA had had any complaints from neighbors of the Vineyard Haven terminal, Mr. Lamson said, “We have not.”

Cut cars
Also Tuesday, two Island residents, Marie Laursen and Julie Robinson, asked the SSA to do what it could to limit the ever-increasing number of vehicles being transported to the Island.

Ms. Robinson the increasing vehicle traffic is “going to kill our Island.” She said that as she traveled around the Island on business, she ran into blockages of cars at every stop sign. “This Island wasn’t built for all these cars,” she said.

Ms. Laursen said Vineyard Haven, the Island’s main port, was “choking on traffic.”

According to the most recent statistics as of June 21, year to date, the SSA counted 157,176 vehicle trips (round-trip passage is counted as two), a 7.39 percent increase over the 146,431 vehicles carried year-to-date in 2015. Of those vehicles, 72,643 traveled on discounted excursion fares available to Island residents.

Woods Hole adjustments
In other business Tuesday, Mr. Lamson reported that passengers and vehicle drivers are pleased with the new freight boat Woods Hole. He said management is working with the boat designers and builders to find a fix to a bow wake that comes up in front of the boat, particularly at higher speeds (14 knots) and in shallower waters (where the water depth is 10 feet below the keel).

Options include possibly removing one of the vessel’s spray rails, or modifying the bulbous bow. “Meanwhile, our captains have been experimenting with different ballasting weights, particularly when the vessel is lightly loaded, that appear to have addressed the problem for the short term,” Mr. Lamson said in a management report to the meeting.

The SSA members also reviewed proposed 2017 winter and spring operating schedules. A vote is expected next month. The main change is that the early-spring operating schedule will end on on March 31 instead of April 11, and the spring operating schedules will begin 11 days earlier than this past year and end on May 15, 2017.