With no advance warning, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT) removed mobile pedestrian warning signs placed in crosswalks throughout Vineyard Haven last Thursday. Tisbury police and the town administrator were not notified in advance.
The DOT later told town officials that Tisbury lacked necessary permitting for the signs, and that the signs were often damaged by vehicles.
DOT Spokesman Michael Verseckes, in an email to The Times, said that the signs were removed because Tisbury is not licensed to have them, and that the DOT is working with the police department to issue permits so that signs can be placed at Five Corners.
Mr. Verseckes said it was his understanding that the signs that were removed were frequently run over or destroyed by trucks.
Tisbury Town Administrator John Grande said that DOT representative Darren Welch emailed him Friday morning to inform him of the sign removal.
“[Mr. Welch] said that some of them have been run over, some have fallen over, some are in locations that are basically a problem, and he removed them,” Mr. Grande told The Times. “He feels they were in the wrong location, or the roads are too narrow.”
Mr. Grande said he was unaware that the signs posed a problem. He told The Times he is concerned the signs were removed before such a busy time on the Island.
Tisbury Police Lieutenant Eric Meisner told The Times that he was contacted by the DOT that afternoon, the day the signs were taken down.
“I got a call from MassDOT indicating that they had removed all the signs and taken them up to their barn, because the town of Tisbury didn’t have a permit,” Lieutenant Meisner told The Times.
Lieutenant Meisner said that the signs had been in place for more than four years, and that he was unsure what type of permit was needed. He estimated that about 10 signs had been removed.
“We’ve contacted MassDOT up in Boston, and we’re trying to clarify what kind of a permit we would need. Hopefully we can have this taken care of,” he said.
Mr. Meisner expressed concern that the signs were removed so close to the busy Fourth of July weekend.
“It’s kind of odd that they would notice four years after they were out there, and just before one of the biggest weekends we have on the Island,” Lieutenant Meisner said. “To take them away I think is a major safety concern for pedestrians.”
On Wednesday, Lieutenant Meisner said the town had received permits to place signs at the Net Result and Educomp crosswalks.