The following letter was addressed to the West Tisbury selectmen.

I attended Tuesday evening’s public meeting with Steamship Authority officials at MVRHS. I came to speak out against some proposed changes at their Vineyard Haven terminal [SSA Plans Reconfiguration of Vineyard Haven Lot, Vineyard Gazette, March 7, 2015], and I did.

I was informed by Marc Hanover, the Vineyard’s representative on the SSA’s board of governors, that the proposed changes were instigated by a Tisbury committee. The additional ticket booth would be a welcome change, but the removal of the covered walkway and the parking space in front of it, on Water street, is definitely not. Replacing pick-up/drop-off spaces with a lane of traffic is not an acceptable change. Replacing shelter from the elements with landscaping is not an acceptable change.

I am requesting that you make it clear to the Steamship Authority, the town of Tisbury and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission that any changes to the Steamship Authority’s handling of vehicle and pedestrian traffic, at terminals that serve this Island, are a matter of concern to the entire Island. No one committee of any one town here has the authority to speak for the entire Island on this matter, period.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Benoit Baldwin
West Tisbury