A Martha’s Vineyard Commission subcommittee decided this week to require a new traffic study for a proposed fuel station off State Road in Vineyard Haven, but not before a bit of open disagreement on the merits.

Three weeks ago Clarence (Trip) Barnes 3rd and his associate Rubin Cronig appeared before a skeptical commission to present his preliminary plan for a mixed gas and electric car recharging station on High Point Lane off State Road in Vineyard Haven. The commission was wary of allowing a gas station in an area where other commercial development projects including gas stations have been turned down due to concerns over traffic.

At issue during the land use planning committee meeting on Monday night was the traffic study. Mr. Barnes had compiled and submitted a binder with eight studies of the area from previous commission reviews, but commission traffic planner Michael Mauro said up-to-date data will be required.

Two members of the commission questioned the need.

“We’ve studied this eight times in the last seven years; what further information are we going to glean from another traffic study on State Road?” asked commission member Brian Smith. “Hasn’t this been studied to death?”

Mr. Mauro said the old studies could be used as a baseline.

Mr. Barnes pressed the common sense factor.

“If I seem negative or angry please excuse me,” he said. “I just have a hard time staying calm when I think about the obvious fact that if there’s a gas station up there it will cut the traffic by half down at Five Corners. I’ve spent my whole working life driving around Vineyard Haven.”

He added: “I will go ahead and spend the money on this foolishness . . . If you really think that you can look at me with a straight face and say, ‘This is important, we need another traffic study,’ then by God I’ll have to write out another check.”

Mr. Barnes estimated that the survey would cost him $3,000, but Mr. Cronig thought it could cost as much as $8,000.

“It’s a huge expense we’re going to put on the applicant,” said Edgartown commissioner James Joyce. “Do we care about his expenses or not? Does that come into our thinking or does it not matter what it costs?” he added.

“We always try to be reasonable in the requirements we put on an applicant because we do care. These are private business people,” replied commissioner Doug Sederholm. “But we also care about the number one issue on this project: its impact on traffic in a highly congested area.”

Commission executive director Mark London said the traffic study for Tisbury Fuel Services, a proposed gas station on State Road that the commission rejected in 2002, found it would generate 1,300 additional trips per day.

“That is a lot,” Mr. London said. “That is a large order of magnitude for upper State Road. That’s why we’re tipping into that category of requiring a full traffic study.

Mr. Sederholm sounded a note of empathy for Mr. Barnes.

“I hear what you’re saying, Trip, but keep in mind that there have been traffic studies for other gas stations and you’re suggesting that you want to rely on them. Remember that those stations were denied,” he said.

“It’s a toll to pay to get into business and it’s a sad state of affairs,” said Mr. Barnes.