I am perplexed by the two expansionary projects being pursued by the Steamship Authority and the airport commission.

Year-round residents host parties when the population bomb of summer people, like me, leave. Summer residents bemoan the overpopulation of their own kind, even though they sheepishly concede they are to blame.

If the summer residents and year-round residents are united in their support of an Island with less, not more, people, then why are our public institutions so aggressively pursuing plans that can only encourage a higher Island population?

The airport’s case is especially preposterous because your reporting showed how airport traffic peaked 18 years ago. As someone who routinely uses the airport throughout the summer, even on the dreaded Fridays and Sundays, I have never stood in a security line longer than 10 people. The outdoor boarding area is a bit cobbled together but are we so desperate to optimize those 15 minutes of our lives? There are toilets and cold water. The expansion can only succeed in its undeniable mission to increase plane traffic or fail while wasting an astonishing amount of money.

Perhaps the Gazette could help by conducting a simple poll to understand exactly where all Vineyarders stand? Would you like your public institutions to pursue policies that would increase, decrease, or maintain the Island’s summer population?

A wise man once wrote, “All human evil comes from a single cause, man’s inability to sit still in a room.” It’s hard to find any other reason for these initiatives than our genetically-engineered instinct for action, even when none is called for. It would be great if our institutions could better articulate the fundamental goal they are solving for and find out if their constituents actually support that goal. Our Island is at stake.

Peter Gray

New York city and Tashmoo