Amid the clamor for improved pedestrian safety and complaints of traffic congestion around the Steamship Authority’s Woods Hole terminal, ferry officials say additional safety measures have been implemented. But some board members said the ferry line needs to improve communication, worried that the ferry line’s credibility is being undermined.
The ongoing terminal construction is part of a terminal reconstruction process that is more than a decade in the works, with the expectation that most of the work will be wrapped up by next spring. In the past months, there have been reports of weekend traffic congestion backing into Woods Hole Road, with space limitations from the ongoing construction, and general confusion in the terminal.
Among the recent changes, the Steamship has repainted walking areas through the construction zone, and installed signs to guide passengers. Golf carts have also been utilized to help passengers with mobility issues. Additional personnel have been added to provide travelers direction.
Also, during a Steamship Authority board meeting on Tuesday, General Manager Robert Davis and shoreside operations director Alison Fletcher noted that they have created a new designated drop-off area, limited the number of non-Steamship buses, and separated bike lanes from cars on the property.
There’s also a noticeable increased police presence at the terminal. Sean Driscoll, Steamship Authority communications director, said that while the ferry line hires its own police detail for the terminal, the Falmouth Police Department is also providing details on town streets, paid through the town’s embarkation fees. (Revenue is generated for the fund through ferry trips. The town’s embarkation fund policy states the funding is meant to mitigate the “impacts of ferry service to the town’s infrastructure and ability to protect public safety.”)
Woods Hole residents have complained about the design of the new terminal for years, and the snarled traffic has exacerbated some people’s views on the project.
Meanwhile, the project is also budgeted higher than initially anticipated. The board approved a $32 million contract with Holliston-based contractor Colantonio in 2024, with a 10 percent contingency, which brought the total budget up to about $38 million. But numbers presented by the ferry line officials Tuesday show that while the project is now estimated to cost a little over $36 million, they’ve budgeted for $39.16 million.
Jim Malkin, Martha’s Vineyard board representative, said the current congestion seems to align with what the area sees annually during the summer months, especially with some travelers attempting to board earlier boats, or circle around Woods Hole with their cars. Additionally, Malkin said while he’s pleased with increased communication to travelers — something he said was vital because of the ongoing construction — some people don’t check the messaging frequently.
“People are creatures of habit. They’ve been using the Steamship Authority for years and years and years. Many of these folks haven’t looked at the website. Many of these folks do what they’ve always done,” Malkin said, referring to Islanders he spoke with about the ferry line overall. “But the fact that there’s construction work underway creates more and more need for better communication to the public, and a better response from the public, if that is at all possible.”
Peter Jeffrey, Falmouth board representative, said some people have been puzzled that the construction underway included tasks like roofwork, when the ferry line had said construction would be limited to interior work during the tourism season.
Robert Davis and Lian Davis, an architect from BIA Studio, the firm behind the reconstruction design, both explained that the interior work was referring to construction that would be done inside of the work-zone footprint; no construction would go beyond a fence that’s been installed around the ongoing work.
Jeffrey underscored that most people assumed internal construction referred to plumbing or electrical work, not just being within a construction-site footprint.
“I think there’s a great amount of confusion, and it undermines our credibility with the public,” Jeffrey said.
Malkin also highlighted that there wasn’t supposed to be heavy equipment during the summer. “Every time I see a crane or something that’s moving around in that area, it makes the message muddled,” he said.
Davis presented an overview of the project timeline and the changes that the design had undergone over time. He said “substantial completion” of the project is expected to be done in May 2026, although there will be some work left, like dealing with the current terminal building.
Exactly what is the actual purpose of this structure?
Probably could have been at an off-site location (funny that employees inside get harbor views)
What a waste. Good by Woods Hole (going to miss you), good by Davis! NOT GOING TO MISS YOU!!! Step down now and run away!!
“The current terminal building” that many travelers would find perfectly adequate if there were only more benches inside? That building? Let’s hope the taj mahal turns out to be a better design than the weather shelter near the boats. Good on the SSA for at least however belatedly attempting to make the lives of foot passengers safer.
And eliminated employee parking for 12 bikes. Ridiculous.
I have to disagree with the MV Board Rep when he says the congestion “seems to align with what the area sees annually during the summer months.” I have never in 50 years living here seen the traffic going to the terminal backed up for several miles and not moving. The first time I was in it, I had carved out a LOT of extra time, then sat in traffic on Woods Hole Road for 35 minutes, arrived at the booth 10 minutes AFTER when I should have been checking in, and was saved by the ferry being late.
There was clearly no plan and the workers were scrambling to accomodate the cars. When you are just sitting there for a half hour with no communication and a boat to catch to get home, and no standby, it’s a stressful situation and I feel like the SSA is minimizing the effect this is having on all of us. It’s not exactly business as usual.
That white elephant in the middle of the parking area WAS A HORRIBLE MISTAKE MR MALKIN WAS A HORRIBLE MISTAKE-no common sense-nobody on the Vineyard or in Woods Hole wanted this now we are stuck with40 MILLION DOLLAR unforgivable fare increaser view blocker and a REAL safety problem.sixty {60}years of my life was spent trucking in and out of WH trucks of all sizes and shapes flatbed trailers for lumber/concrete refrigerated for Cronigs-IGA-Merciers-Edgartown Market and countless loads of high end furniture -fine art and antiques in air ride trailers.The year round census was 4000!!! Barnes grew with the island/God bless th rank and file they helped me survive-tear that down and everyone will be happier -so what if you lose money look at those new freight boats!!!glad you didnt buy used trucks for me MALKIN was a horrible mistake too……
Couldn’t agree more, Joanne! Moreover, the stress is so often exacerbated by the rudeness of SSA employees. We recently traveled all over Scotland on multiple car ferries from Skye to the Outer Hebrides, and the experience was light years more fun, friendly, and affordable than what we have seen in our 7 years of living on MV. Our last ferry over forced us to wait over an hour beyond sailing time, when the SSA crew herded us all back off the runway to another ferry. The SSA staff gave us no warning, no reason, and certainly no compensation, but had not trouble lording over us as if we were cattle. My wife asked me why the Scottish crews were so much more friendly and respectful, and why the SSA employees, practically every time we sail, are obnoxious, crude, and customer-UNfriendly. I coudn’t answer; can anyone explain?