Not the place for apartments

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To the Editor:

First of all, I would like to thank all the members of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission who have taken on a thankless job and who try to keep Martha’s Vineyard’s best interest in their hearts.

I was vehemently opposed to the construction of the Roundabout. I now have to say that it works like a  charm the few times a month I have to go to Vineyard Haven. On the other hand, I go through the Edgartown Triangle on a daily basis, and the traffic there has turned into a nightmare. You may be thinking, “It’s only a few months of the year, and it’s crowded all over the Island during the season.” Well, how would you like it if when you arrived in heaven, God said you would have to spend a few months in hell every year. That said, I would ask you to consider the ramifications of adding more traffic and more residential parking to this already congested area.

If the Post Office Square parking lot can accommodate 23 more spaces, why haven’t they already reconfigured it? The space could be well used. And don’t suggest we park in the Deep Woods lot. When the free bus to downtown is running, it is usually completely filled by late morning.

I would also ask the commission to require another traffic study, since the one done in 2011 that the Edgartown planning board suggests is adequate was done before the Roundabout dramatically increased the traffic flow at the Triangle. The only reason there is not complete gridlock here is because those of us who use the intersection on a regular basis are kind enough to institute an alternate feed when the traffic is heavy, which obviously is not legally required.

If the developer, out of the goodness of his heart, wants to put up some affordable housing for year-round workers, may I suggest that he find a nice, residential area with no traffic and the potential for yards for the children to play. We don’t want children running around the Post Office Square parking lot, now do we?

Lastly, if the commission chooses to go ahead and approve this project, as it did the Roundabout, over the objections of the people who live in Edgartown, I humbly ask that it include a rental restriction clause to make sure Mr. Hajjar doesn’t turn the apartments into condominiums or go back on his promise of affordable housing.

Carolyn O’Daly

Edgartown