By MEGAN DOOLEY

West Tisbury selectmen have sent a letter of thanks to the state highway department for installing reflective delineators along the center lines at the intersection of State and Old County Roads.

“Over the past week the selectmen and the police department have been pleased to observe the more orderly behavior of motorists approaching and turning at this dangerous intersection,” wrote selectman and board chairman Richard Knabel in a letter to Massachusetts Highway Department district highway director Bernard McCourt dated August 11.

The delineators are a recent addition at the intersection, and when they first appeared, acting police chief Dan Rossi said the town was not happy with the result. The rows of delineators were too dense and were distracting to motorists, he said. The state has since removed many of the flexible poles that line the center of the roads, which Chief Rossi said is a vast improvement. It’s also helping keep the formerly hazardous intersection safe.

“If you sit and watch it, you can see the difference. It does make a difference,” Chief Rossi said. “The way they’re placed, it makes the person taking a left-hand turn make a slow and deliberate left-hand turn, instead of just cutting the left without slowing down,” he said of the turn onto Old County Road, headed from Vineyard Haven. “[It] makes the motorist look up-Island to see if any traffic’s coming,” he said.

In their letter to Mr. McCourt, the selectmen also addressed another safety measure installed at the intersection by the state highway department, which they believe has the potential to cause more harm than good.

“Recessed reflectors were installed in the roadway, not only along the centerline, but inside the fog line on the travel surface. The grooves carved out for these reflectors are quite deep and potentially very dangerous for mopeds and bicycles,” wrote Mr. Knabel.

“The potential for accidents, especially in the summer, is quite real. We would like your engineers to reevaluate these grooves, and determine if filling them in might be the best course of action,” the letter said.

Chief Rossi agreed that the grooved reflectors are dangerous and said selectmen hope that the state highway department will send someone to fill them in. But delineators and reflectors are only a temporary solution. State and local highway officials are exploring more permanent solutions for the roadway, including a potential island in the center of Old County Road, or the creation of a T intersection at the crossing.

“Right now that’s just a temporary fix until they decide what’s going to happen,” said Chief Rossi.