Oak Bluffs officials are taking a stand against a proposed plan to have a New Bedford company, 41 North Offshore, run freight service into the town’s port.
During a Tuesday morning Steamship Authority board meeting, Oak Bluffs select board chair Gail Barmakian voiced her town’s concerns, citing pedestrian safety and traffic congestion.
The New Bedford company already provides barge service to Nantucket and has been looking to expand to the Vineyard, potentially unloading freight trucks in Oak Bluffs during the summer and in Vineyard Haven the rest of the year. Each boat would carry up to five tractor trailers between the time windows of 5:35 am to 6:05 am and 5:20 pm to 5:40 pm.
Steamship staff had recommended moving forward with the license to the Port Council in May, but councilors wanted more information before voting. Tisbury has also pushed back against the proposal, citing similar concerns to Oak Bluffs.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Barmakian argued that Oak Bluffs’ Steamship Authority port is flanked by crowded beaches. There are also the schedules of other passenger ferry services, like Seastreak and even the Steamship Authority’s own vessels, to worry about. Additionally, she said vehicles would be entering right into the center of town.
Barmakian also had issues with the timing of the boats. She said traffic in the evenings is already “chaotic.” If 41 North were to experience delays, Barmakian said the town’s traffic issues could be exacerbated.
“We are very sensitive to what would happen during that afternoon run, especially as it concerns a barge and a [tugboat],” Barmakian said.
These concerns surrounding the on-demand route between New Bedford and Oak Bluffs — a six-hour trip one way for 41 North — have been expressed before at an Oak Bluffs select board meeting on July 9. Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle said during the meeting that the plan sounded like a “logistical nightmare” without further planning details.
The town requested a series of conditions to be placed on the license if the Steamship board approves the freight company’s proposal. These include a minimum of 48 hours of advanced notice for barge activities to the town’s police chief, no overnight parking of vehicles or vessels, and a contingency plan for procedures like handling malfunctions and the “containment of leaks.”
On Tuesday, Jim Malkin, Martha’s Vineyard representative to the Steamship board, said he was in favor of having the on-demand freight service between New Bedford and the Vineyard. He pointed out the Tisbury Towing has made over 400 round trips between New Bedford and the Vineyard. Whether the additional on-demand trips were necessary was less certain, but he was not against the idea. He pointed out that the Cape and Islands were a growing region.
“We all suffer from growth, or we all profit from growth,” he said.
The issue will be reviewed by the Port Council during their next meeting in August.
It is too bad that the comment date of 7/11 on dumping lye into the ocean has passed before the times published this story. Letting the horse out of the barn to late for public awareness. Dumping in oceans is a BAD idea even for scientists.
Comments are closed.