Plan to Refurbish Beach Stirs Emotion

By JEANNIE VANASCO

Thomas Wirth unrolled a map mounted on two poles and planted them in
the sand on Inkwell beach in Oak Bluffs last Thursday morning. Mr.
Wirth, who worked as the landscape architect for the PBS programs This
Old House and Victory Garden for 20 years, has drafted a design concept
for this section of waterfront, in conjunction with the Oak Bluffs
Boardwalk to Beach Task Force.

The 25-member task force includes a wide range of town officials,
including members of the conservation commission, parks and recreation
department, planning board, police department and selectmen.

More than 50 residents listened quietly, with the early morning
traffic roaring by, as Mr. Wirth pointed to the aerial snapshot and
summarized notes and drawings that he and the task force have made since
last November. The plan envisions new railings, steps, lampposts,
sidewalks, widened walkways and more bike racks and access points to the
beaches.

Of the Ocean Park section, Mr. Wirth said, "Right now, that
big bank full of asphalt is one of the worst things you can imagine.
We're looking into ways of vegetating that. Right around there is
where the bus stop is. I had a couple of cold waits there in December
and March when I was taking the bus. It would be nice to have shelter, a
spot for viewing."

Directly across from Pay Beach, which runs from Inkwell Beach to the
Steamship Authority terminal, Mr. Wirth suggested installing portable
facilities, such as concession stands, changing rooms, showers and
restrooms, that could be wheeled in or dropped in seasonally. He also
mentioned building a permanent transparent structure that a person could
enter and then take steps down to the beach. "It would chronicle
the fact that this is where the beach is," he said.

Mr. Wirth researched the architectural history of the district using
old sepia photographs as his guide, and developed hybrid designs that
would modernize yet retain the old Victorian style. Reactions in the
crowd varied. One man, who later left the meeting, weaved his way to the
front of the crowd and said, "Excuse me, sir. I like all of what
you are saying, but primarily most of these people are here about the
sand on this beach. That is what we want to hear about. That is what I
want to hear about. All of these other things are nice, but we want some
beach, some sand. We are losing the sand on this beach."

Task force representatives tried to intervene but the man raised his
voice, "What is going to transpire with the sand?" Another
person chimed in: "I want beach. I want some sand over here this
week. All you need is some executive order."

Jo Ann Taylor, a coastal planner with the Martha's Vineyard
Commission, replied: "What the gentleman has left out of the
equation is the money. As most of you know, bringing sand is
expensive."

Part of the sand loss comes from the road. Storm water washes the
sand out, and to repair the current structure would be too expensive,
Ms. Taylor explained. "The best thing is to bring more
sand," she said. "It is a sacrificial thing because we know
the sand is going to wash away. The way that we're going to get
that money for the sand is through the predisaster mitigation plan which
we have on draft. Anyone can look at it. Once approved, over the summer
or in the fall, then the town and county and any other towns can apply
for it. That grant round will come out probably in February, then the
town can get money to get some sand here."

Nancy Phillips, co-chairman of the task force, added, "This is
not a master plan that is going to sit on the shelf. We have the talent
and the brains in Oak Bluffs to go for it. We're going to go for
it this winter." Some members of the crowd sighed. Others shouted,
"How do we know?"

Ms. Phillips answered: "You're going to have to take my
word for it. I'm a volunteer busting my tail to do this. We all
are. The fact that we have this meeting and a task force shows that we
have the desire to do this."

Ms. Phillips asked residents to attend a July 24 meeting at Oak
Bluffs Library to talk about the sand loss on Inkwell Beach. Meanwhile,
she said anyone concerned about immediately addressing the sand problem
should call or write to the parks department.

Town administrator Michael Dutton also said people should contact
their state legislators. "It's an uphill struggle, a problem
we've acknowledged for years. If we can get some legislative
pressure on the DEP [Department of Environmental Protection], that would
get direct action," Mr. Dutton said.

Mr. Wirth continued with the presentation. "I know if I had my
way, I would have a truck backing up with sand here right now," he
said.

He then discussed increasing the height of many of the railings to
42 inches, possibly adding mesh to protect climbers and kids. He said
the task force wants to add a viewing deck and access to the beach for
people with handicaps. It also wants to bury unsightly telephone wires
and make sidewalks porous so that water will penetrate through. There
has also been talk of building a fishing pier near the Steamship
Authority wharf, which may be eligible for some kind of state funding if
the town is willing to do basic maintenance. The SSA cannot build the
pier because of homeland security restrictions.

When the presentation ended, Katherine Gaffey of Oak Bluffs said:
"The task force has so many great ideas, but I believe overall
people were looking for answers for this section of the beach and it was
really Pay Beach that we got the information about."

Mr. Dutton said: "In my 10 years here, the issue of the beach
and the sand has come up every year. We're trying to address the
issue. We have a lot of stringent requirements placed on us by the
state. We're going to the federal government for storm mitigation.
I know, sand on the beach seems like the simplest thing in the world,
but it's just not."

Mr. Wirth said he understands the frustration with the sand problem.
He said he also hopes to design something Oak Bluffs residents can feel
proud of. "You can always go off in a corner and make your own
conclusions," he said, "but if you have people giving nice
input, you can make sure you're serving the needs of the community
and not just imposing something on them. I think the process has been
brilliant, I really do."

He pulled out the wooden poles, rolled up the plans and dragged them
through the sand to the road.