West Tisbury selectmen on Wednesday swiftly voted to remove several No Parking signs recently placed across the road from the Lambert’s Cove beach parking lot after complaints came in from people who had paid $50 for a resident beach sticker and were worried they would have nowhere to park.

The shoulder across from the beach parking lot has long been used for overflow parking during the busy summer months. The town this year has issued over 600 beach stickers for automobiles, although the parking lot holds only around 25 cars. When the lot is full, motorists park across the road and then walk across to go to the beach.

The high volume of pedestrians crossing back and forth has subsequently created concerns over safety. Large trucks from the nearby E. C. Cottle lumber combined with people walking across the street, including children, have led to many near accidents, police and town officials said.

Police Chief Beth Toomey on Wednesday acknowledged the timing of the new signs — which warn of a $50 fine for illegal parking — could have been better. She said she ordered the signs in May and hoped to have them up sometime in June, but the police department had a busy month with the resolution of a rape case, several indictments, motor vehicle accidents and suicide attempts.

Chief Toomey also said the signs were not placed exactly where they should have been, making it seem as if a larger portion of the shoulder was off-limits to parking than initially intended. She defended the placement of several signs that went up at Seth’s Pond along a blind corner where vehicles routinely veer dangerously close to parked cars and pedestrians.

Chief Toomey cited a letter she wrote last November in response to a request from selectmen for her comment on potential changes to parking tickets and parking policies. The chief recommended placing additional signs at Seth’s Pond and Lambert’s Cove beach for safety reasons.

“Both locations would involve having a few more signs put in place with small placards that are attached below the No Parking sign indicating the $50 fine,” the chief said Wednesday, reading from her letter. “Both locations are of concern when cars are parked too far into the road causing pedestrian hazards and the risk of small children not being seen by oncoming traffic. The current fines appear not to deter some people from parking illegally.”

Selectman Richard Knabel said he understands the concerns about public safety, but he criticized the chief for putting up the signs without notifying the selectmen. “I don’t want to turn this into a finger-pointing exercise . . . but I think we have some gaps in communications here,” Mr. Knabel said.

He said he spoke with town attorney Ronald Rappaport this week who told him only selectmen have the authority to designate No Parking zones.

Selectman Dianne Powers said she was unaware her fellow selectman had sought a legal opinion on the matter. “This is the first I’ve heard of this conversation, but if you tell me that’s what [Mr. Rappaport] said then I believe you . . . but it would seem public safety falls under the jurisdiction of the police chief,” Ms. Powers said.

Chief Toomey again said the signs grew out of a directive initiated by selectmen.

“I am fine with selectmen deciding where these signs should be placed. I just thought I had my marching orders,” she said.

Several residents complained about the initiative.

“You sort of changed the rules in the middle of the game . . . it doesn’t seem right,” said Longview Road resident Marshall Segall.

The police chief and selectmen then worked out an alternative, agreeing to remove the signs and place traffic cones in the area to steer vehicular traffic away from parked cars and pedestrians. Additional officers will be assigned to the area with radar guns to monitor motorists; the signs placed at Seth’s Pond will remain.

Mr. Knabel said the town needs to explore a long-term solution to the parking and traffic problems along Lambert’s Cove Road, but he said the matter can wait until the fall. “This problem is not new. I am not saying we should ignore it, but address it an aggressive way when the season is over . . . this is after all [the middle of] July,” he said.

Selectmen agreed and then voted 2-0 to remove the signs immediately. Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter 3rd, a sergeant on the town police force, abstained from the vote.