Tisbury’s select board is reconsidering its decision to eliminate covered benches from the Steamship Authority bus stop in Vineyard Haven after a wave of public complaints.
The board voted Tuesday afternoon to have town police and town administrator Joe LaCivita look into new benches for the stop, including a design involving individual seating areas separated by armrests, meant to deter people from sleeping there. The board also noted a potential cost of around $1,100 per new bench.
The board decided to remove the benches from the busy stop earlier this month after a year of loitering and behavioral incidents documented by Tisbury Police, many of which came from the Island’s homeless population. The benches were removed shortly afterward.
Board member Roy Cutrer on Tuesday acknowledged public complaints about a lack of covered benches impacting access for the elderly and disabled.
“We tried to fix a problem of people hanging around the benches. We ended up creating more of a problem. We forgot about the people who weren’t the problem,” he said.
Police Chief Chris Habekost, who told the board before its initial decision that removing the benches was the best course of action for public safety, also said on Tuesday that concerns about the elderly and disabled warranted a reconsideration.
Board member Christina Colarusso also supported replacing the enclosures themselves, pointing out graffiti and their poor condition. “The enclosure is gross, dingy, dark, weird,” she said. Cutrer said that the town could look into whether Steamship Authority embarcation funds could help improve the enclosures’ appearance or replace them.
A group of Vineyard residents has already privately funded replacements if Tisbury doesn’t act, and quickly, they will. Enough of this silliness
Installing cameras which can be viewed at the police station might be a solution.
Hi my name is Toni Cook and having the benches put back at the steam ship at the steam ship is a great idea because of the elderly is a great I idea my mom is 87 years of age
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