Craig Whitaker, a New York City architect and urban planner who has a home in Tisbury, updated Edgartown selectmen Monday on a plan to create a “highway manual,” a document that would guide future road projects on Martha’s Vineyard, as well as guide improvements and maintenance on current public roadways. Preliminary work on the concept got underway last year, funded by a $10,000 grant through the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC), according to Mr. Whitaker. He said that such a manual, effectively a contract between Island towns and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, would allow local officials to influence highway projects and create roads appropriate for the Island.
Mr. Whitaker invited selectmen, and the public, to a meeting of the MVC Island Roads Committee, at Edgartown town hall on Wednesday, December 3, at 5 pm. “He who holds the pencil has the power,” he said. “It’s a chance for us to be proactive. It’s a chance to initiate rather than always be on the defensive.”
The highway manual would govern road features such as lane width, shoulders, barriers, drainage, utilities, lighting, vegetation, and maintenance, according to Mr. Whitaker.
The Island Roads Committee met throughout the summer and selected a consulting firm which will make a presentation at Wednesday’s session. Mr. Whitaker estimated the cost of creating a highway manual at roughly $150,000. He said state Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) money could fund the project.
Edgartown highway superintendent Stuart Fuller advised caution. He said he sometimes feels like a lone voice on the issue of safety and functionality.
“I do feel like a lone voice with having our roads be functional,” Mr. Fuller said. “It has to meet safety criteria. You would be a fool to put the Vineyard at risk legally.”
Art Smadbeck, chairman of the Edgartown selectmen, said the board has faith in Mr. Fuller.
“You’re not the lone voice, you’re the lead voice,” he said.
