A longtime member of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission moved last night to reconsider the vote on the roundabout.
“This is going to be our last opportunity to reconsider this decision,” said Leonard Jason Jr. “We have a chance, in my mind, to put the bullet back in the gun.” The comments came at the regular commission meeting last evening.
The commission voted narrowly two weeks ago to approve the controversial traffic improvement for the blinker intersection in Oak Bluffs. The vote was 7-6. Mr. Jason was a vocal opponent.
Last night Mr. Jason pushed to rescind the commission’s vote.
But in a point of order, commissioner Chris Murphy said the vote could not take place last night because two of the commissioners who had participated in the original vote on the roundabout — Holly Stephenson and Ned Orleans — were not present and had not been properly notified that Mr. Jason would make his motion.
Mrs. Stephenson voted in favor of the roundabout; Mr. Orleans voted against it. Mr. Murphy cast the deciding vote and tie-breaker.
Mr. Murphy said the commission can decide at its next meeting on Nov. 3 whether to rescind the vote on the roundabout.
If the vote is rescinded by a simple majority, it would not amount to a rejection of the project but would a nullify the first vote. The commission could then reconsider the project.
This article appears in October 21, 2011.
Best news I’ve heard in a while concerning the roundabout. thanks Lenny!!!
Thanks, Lenny! Let’s try to get it right this time … I say it should go to a vote of at least the Oak Bluffs taxpayers (more reasonably the entire Island). The rationale for this is *so* shaky!
A roundabout will be a serious cause of accidents. Impatient drivers will force their way dangerously through it in the summer. I don’t see how it will do anything but create a real problem Off-island roundabouts are traffic traps in the summer, and very conducive to accidents.
Thank you to Leonard Jason, Jr. !!
Your infinite wisdom on so many Vineyard issues is truly valued. Most often, you are the voice of reason.
I have lived summers on MV since 1955, and where the roundabout is scheduled to be located is an absolutely necessary. I say this because I have lived on Nantucket for over a year now, and they do wonders for keping traffic moving on an island that has many more traffic problems. So, if you wnat o kow of an example of where roundabouts work well, it’s on ACK.
Thank you Mr. Jason.
Commissioners please reconsider.
The 4 way stops are fine, better than blinker.
We all know this roundabout a mistake.
OMG! Made my day!
Please, for all those out there who support NO round about, please,please do what you can to support a “No” vote in a reconsider process!!!
Thank you Lenny!!!
Allouise
SERIOUSLY!!!! This has been hashed out at every level possible for 10 years. How many times does this needs to go back to some board for a vote. AND I don’t even have strong feelings either way. My frustrations lie more with how to get ANYTHING done.
Where I originated, in the Bronx, the philosphy is “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. We have been on island since 1956 and have had only good experiences with the intersection. People are more patient than Mr. Murphy credit them for. They will, as they have in the past, courteously wait from their turn to go through.
Thank you, Lenny, for being the voice of reason. So many people are opposed to this project which is so obviously ridiculous. “Go Around This!” is a facebook page dedicated to people voicing their displeasure with the decision. There is no need for a major change at this intersection and the disruption caused by the construction and resultant dangers inherent in the roundabout aren’t worth the expense. I’m not sure why this has been an ongoing discussion for so long. If you need to do something, install a stoplight that can be turned off in the off-season.
Here in this summer resort we have a new rotary, but only a fraction of the population that the Vineyard has. If your rotary is ever built, the auto body repair businesses will be clapping their hands, and counting the dollars they will make. During the commuting hours, cars coming from the airport will be playing Russian Roulette trying to enter the rotary. I use our rotary at least twice a day, and I come up from a side road, so it is stop and wait, and you guys will be there a long, long time, waiting to enter the loop. So, congratulations, Lenny. Oh, by the way, Judy sends you her love.
What a waste of time, what a waste of money and what a waste of valuable space. That is going to be the end result constructing a roundabout. What is going to be achieved by forcibly taking away property from people who don’t want to give it up, the Oak Bluffs tax payers will bear the brunt when they will have to pay out exorbitant fees for maintenance and landscaping of this ridiculous and pathetic attempt to resolve a somewhat minor problem with traffic congestion, that only occurs periodically, and that could be easily solved with the installation of solar powered part-time traffic lights that only operate during peak and necessary times. It is rather ironic that in the UK where roundabouts are far more prevalent, they use part-time traffic signals to control the flow of traffic using the roundabouts in many locations during peak traffic times, because using the roundabout principle by itself cannot handle the flow of traffic, and in other locations they have taken away the landscaping and brick or stonework on roundabouts and replaced it with regular asphalt painted with road marking paint because they keep getting damaged and require extensive maintenance that costs taxpayers too much money. And more importantly here on Martha’s Vineyard there are far more important and pressing projects that require focus and attention of the residents and public officials on the Island, such as when are we going to see signs of a new drawbridge being constructed, and the deteriorated condition of many roads on the Island, some of the roads in Oak Bluffs are terrible, Vineyard Ave & Dukes County Ave have too many ruts and potholes, and what this winter may bring will make them even worse. And then of course there is the issues of affordable housing, the Oak Bluffs financial crisis, and many other very important issues affecting the residents of the various towns on Martha;s Vineyard and the County of Dukes County.