Don’t close the airport SSA office

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To the Editor:

This letter was written to the Steamship Authority:

I am writing in utter dismay at the news that the airport SSA office will be closing. I cannot imagine not having the convenience of this office, as this team of employees is so stellar and the location so accessible. I have worked with this amazing team for years, amongst those years quite a few hours of crises, and they have always been so accommodating, understanding, expert in their field, and really go‑to people. I have seen the best of the SSA in this collection of people that is so good at their job, and I mean really good. So I cannot imagine life without them and would want you to set them up in another office as quickly as possible after the closing of the airport office.

It strikes me as a terrible burden to have to go to the offices in OB or Vineyard Haven to buy my tickets for going off-Island. Neither one of these offices is easily accessed, especially in the summer, nor is either one of them conveniently out of the fray and centrally located. We Islanders need all the convenience we can get with our life here dependent on a ferry, and to make us have to go to the offices in OB or Vineyard Haven would just be smacking of the absurd and certainly not Island-friendly. Parking alone would be daunting. Never mind having to deal with the masses, standing in line for so long during the summer, and not having the personal touch this team has been so able to give.

So, please, please do not consider placing this burden on us by not finding a centrally located office for us to use and be able to get to without all kinds of havoc. Please do not send us to OB or Vineyard Haven, and please try with all your might to keep this “A team” intact for us, at a location that would be easy on us Islanders.

I can only hope that you realize the gravity and sincerity of my plea, and I am sure that I speak for all year-round Islanders and summer residents, as well.

Doris Ward

Edgartown