Blinders Off at the Blinker

The proposal to replace the blinker intersection in Oak Bluffs with a roundabout, under discussion now for a full decade, has become irresistible fodder for headline writers here and elsewhere. Facts and arguments are brought up and shot down, rising and falling like the Flying Horses, restated and refuted, over and over again. Will it improve safety? Will it reduce congestion? Will it change the character of the Island? Yes and no, yes and no.

Oak Bluffs selectmen and various other Island residents are firmly in support of the project; a variety of citizens oppose it. Proponents and opponents have good, well articulated reasons for their views, and there is merit in all of them. Like so many local issues, this really isn’t about facts; it’s about balancing values. In the end, no new piece of information will silence the critics on either side. It comes down to a judgment call: Is what we will get sufficiently valuable to warrant the costs?

On one hand, the roundabout seems a small enough issue. Federal and state funds appear to be available to pay for what elsewhere would be a modest public works project. But like it or not, on the Vineyard this is an issue that goes to the very heart of what people think and feel about their Island. Here it is a symbolically huge infrastructure decision for a major intersection in the center of the community. It is a test, in a way, of regionalism.

We’re not persuaded that the roundabout is essential, nor do we believe it will ruin the Island. But we do believe the decision is now where it should be — with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission — thanks to a referral earlier this summer from the West Tisbury selectmen. There is no question that the roundabout is a development project with broad regional impact; everyone drives through the blinker intersection at one time or another. The volume and vigor of opinions from all over the Island only confirms this view.

The commission owes the roundabout proposal a fresh review, weighing not only the strength of the data used to support the plan but also current views about its potential effect on the Vineyard’s unique character. Both considerations are clearly within its purview. If we need evidence that things can change a lot in ten years, consider the recent anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It is not clear to what extent the roundabout debate is continuing to rely on information and viewpoints that may be out of date.

The commission holds its final public hearing on the roundabout next Thursday, September 22, when it will also close the written record. Until then continued public comment and correspondence are encouraged, and we hope residents will take the time to make their thoughts known. The commission will begin deliberations in the days and weeks after the hearing is closed.

We trust the commission to balance the benefits and detriments of the roundabout project and make a decision with the best interests of the Vineyard in mind. This is less about facts than about taking a reading of where the Island is now and what it wants to be.