Members of the Tisbury Vision Council will meet town officials and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Tuesday, to continue reviewing projects that might qualify for funding from the MassDOT Complete Streets Program.
A representative of Howard Stein Hudson, a Boston-based traffic engineering firm hired by Tisbury in December, will present a summary of its analysis and a draft of a project priority list. The meeting will be at the Katharine Cornell Theater at 4 pm.
The Complete Streets Program may provide up to $400,000 annually to towns eager to rework their roads in order to better accommodate the various ways people navigate their communities.
Some of the projects that have been discussed look at the competing uses of roads by cars, cyclists, and pedestrians, and proposing improvements such as increasing the number and size of sidewalks and bike routes, to allow folks to escape heavily congested commercial areas and connect quickly to other parts of the Island. Crosswalks at major intersections such as Five Corners and the intersection of Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road and State Road and nearby Look Street are possible projects, as are improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists on Lagoon Pond Road. A link between Union Street, Beach Street, and Veterans Memorial Park are among suggestions for funding, as well as a need for better signs at the Steamship Authority to direct people to Main Street. Many have urged the expansion of the cultural district along Beach Road.
MassDOT must have the town’s recommendations by May 1. Projects presented this year will be only those that are already designed and ready to execute. Projects still in need of design will remain on the list, and may be presented to MassDOT later. Those that exceed the $400,000 maximum will require more than one funding source.
Following the presentation, there will be an opportunity for questions and comments, helping the Vision Council identify the community’s priorities.
