If it wasn’t obvious before, it should be obvious now. The orange mesh fencing and yellow barricades along Beach Road indicate an area of beach erosion that threatens the stability of the road. This wouldn’t be so bad if it was at the edge of the state highway, but it is not. The road was never built out to its 40 foot right of way, and so now the erosion is happening about six feet in from the legal footprint of the road.

When MassDOT sent in its plans for the new road, the town wanted to expand sidewalks by one and a half feet on each side. So in response, MassDOT avoided the issue of the road being partly on the beach and decided to take the entire three feet extra from the lagoon side — and also did not have a plan to deal with the six feet of road that is a paper road, but is actually in the sand, thus theoretically placing the road nine feet into the Lagoon-side properties while ignoring the ocean threat of sea level rise.

This may seem to some people as being a bit odd. If you wanted to pick bananas from a tree, would you cut it down so you could reach to the top of the tree by laying it on the ground? The logic works, but maybe it is not the best solution to the problem. Likewise, would you move the road over instead of placing it where it should be.

Beach Road is currently being considered for a variety of schemes and plans, none of which are transparent, and none of which, at least to this writer’s knowledge, include any plans to deal with the road in the sand, or under the waves, as the case may be in the near future.

Recently there was an article in the Vineyard Gazette about the discussion at a board of selectman’s meeting which took place. The report was that there was a discussion. Well, that’s good to know, but could we please have a bit more detail about exactly what the discussion was about?

So far, there has been no advocacy for dealing with the ocean incursion, and right of way deficiencies along the Beach Road corridor. It has got to be dealt with at some time. The state is about to invest several million dollars, or at least wants to, and the town of Tisbury wants certain things also. But no one apparently wants to deal with the water, the sand, the issue of climate change impacting the artery that leads to the hospital and other down island towns. I suppose we can put on waders, and all buy vehicles that can navigate through the water in the future. That certainly is an option. But at least we don’t have banana trees to worry about here, we should be thankful for small favors.

Frank Brunelle
Vineyard Haven