They swallow up roadways, stall cars and block traffic — but still there is a sort of begrudging acceptance of those large puddles that form in familiar areas around the Vineyard after heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.

In Oak Bluffs residents named one well-known puddle off New York avenue “East Chop Lake,” while in Vineyard Haven someone posted a sign reading “Canal Street” on Lagoon Pond Road after a recent rainstorm, a tribute to the frequent flooding that occurs near the post office.

After one powerful thunderstorm two weeks ago, about a dozen cars stalled out in puddles around the Island and required towing, including an Oak Bluffs police cruiser.

But there is some good news on the puddle front.

In Edgartown the highway department is planning to regrade a stretch of Curtis Lane where flooding often occurs after heavy rains.

In Tisbury the public works department recently completed repairs on Lake street that are expected to take care of the flooding problem there. And the department last week finished a smaller project to reduce flooding along Lagoon Pond Road.

Oak Bluffs has also taken steps this past year to fix its puddle problems. The town recently received money from the state to eliminate a large puddle on East Chop drive.

The funding came from the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management agency, and will be used to build a gravel-based wetland to divert the water away from the road. The plan from the engineering firm of Horsley Witten calls for a gravel retention basin system for rainwater to enter and filter through the plants and gravel before being discharged through a pipe into the harbor.

“It’s considered a fairly new approach to managing and treating stormwater. It’s somewhat similar to the planted drainage basins at the hospital for storm water management,” town conservation agent Elizabeth Durkee said.

Town administrator Michael Dutton said the project will not only reduce or possibly eliminate the puddle, but will also reduce contaminants from runoff that otherwise end up in the town harbor. “We hope this improves water quality. Getting rid of the puddle is great, but we also want to get rid of the heavy sediment and bad stuff that ends up in the harbor,” he said.

Mr. Dutton said town officials are working to secure funding to install bio-swales and retention basis along New York avenue, and plan to fix a flooding problem near Niantic Park as well. A recent project was completed to mitigate a longstanding flooding problem at Waban Park.

That project was paid for by a matching grant received by the town parks commission from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The repairs at Waban Park have made a difference, Mr. Dutton said. “It still floods . . . I’m not sure we will ever stop flooding in that area entirely. But it drains a lot faster than it did before, and the puddle doesn’t get as big now,” he said.