For two hours the Tisbury Senior Center hummed with animated conversations Tuesday night among the 60 or so people that attended the first of three Vision Planning workshops the Tisbury planning board will host.
“One of the basic problems in Vineyard Haven is that you can walk downtown in the middle of the summer in the evening, and find that Main Street is empty,” Avi Lev remarked to the discussion group he sat with. “There’s nothing going on, so no one stays here.”
He suggested that Main Street be spiced up with some outdoor cafes, music, and dancing. That brought nods from several people who agreed that the town’s nightlife is somewhat lacking.
The workshop opened with introductory remarks from planning board member Cheryl Doble, who spearheaded the initiative and formerly ran a community design center for the State University of New York.
“I think a vision plan is really important,” Ms. Doble said. “When you have a sense of where you’re headed, it’s a lot easier to end up there.”
She explained why the board chose to take on the project, which has the support of the selectmen and other town departments. “Number one, we want to see more public participation in town planning,” Ms. Doble said. “We want your input and we feel it will be very helpful in our decision-making. We want a better understanding of community values, and that’s something that doesn’t always come out in some of the other planning sessions, and we’ll be trying to sort through that.”
Ms. Doble said vision planning also offers the opportunity to take a comprehensive look at issues in the town. “So instead of just being focused on a particular issue here and another here, we want to start to understand the relationships between some of our challenges and some of our opportunities,” she explained.
Ms. Doble also set some ground rules for the workshop. “This is not the time for debate,” she said. “Tonight is to listen and to build constructively on the ideas that are coming forth.”
With that said, no one seemed to be at a loss for words as members of the Vision Planning Committee guided participants at four large tables through a series of activities and recorded their answers on large easel-backed tablets.
The committee includes 12 representatives from the business community, town boards, committees, and organizations, Tisbury School Principal John Custer, and selectman Melinda Loberg.
For the first activity, participants were given a map of Tisbury and asked to mark where they live, draw a circle around the area they consider their neighborhood, and outline any walking and bike routes they regularly use.
Questions on the back of the sheet asked what places in Tisbury they go to every two to three days, and what activities they like to do but are unable to do in Tisbury.
For the next three exercises, participants listed Tisbury’s treasures, challenges, and opportunities. Discussions were held on each topic, and every participant was asked to contribute to a list. Listed treasures included Lake Tashmoo and Lagoon Pond, a downtown grocery store, the Katharine Cornell and Capawock theaters, Main Street, Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, Tisbury School’s March to the Sea tradition, Owen Park band concerts, the Thrift Store, and the town’s diverse population and “Vineyard vibe.”
In regard to the town’s challenges, responses included decrepit buildings, traffic, providing more public transportation for seniors, too many parking lots, the need for more affordable housing, zoning ordinances, and an attitude of resistance to change among many town residents.
On the topic of opportunities the town might use to address its challenges, respondents suggested adding sidewalks and bike paths, electing leaders with a vision that bucks the status quo, decreasing the number of parking lots, providing better access to the town’s waterfront, zoning changes to allow more apartments and year-round low-cost housing, and utilizing the expertise of retired “experts” who live in the community.
For the final activity, participants were asked to write a description of what they envision Tisbury should look like 10 years from now.
Ms. Doble said that at the conclusion of this week’s workshops, the Planning Board will compile all of the information and hold another series of community workshops in November to discuss the responses and start work on a vision statement and strategies to accomplish it.
“In January we’ll be bringing people back again, and at that point, we’re really hoping to work on a vision plan, as well as how to make it happen,” Ms. Doble said.
For those who didn’t venture out in the evening’s drizzle, there are two more opportunities to participate. Additional workshops will be held from 10 am to 12 pm on Friday at the Vineyard Haven Library and at the same time on Saturday at the Tisbury Emergency Services Facility.
“We had a great turnout, and really appreciate all the folks that came,” Planning Chairman Dan Seidman said after the workshop. However, since the majority appeared to be age 50 and up, he added, “We would like to get some younger points of view as well, and hope we’ll get participation from people of all ages.”
