After a wave of complaints about the removal of benches from two bus shelters adjacent to the Steamship Authority terminal in Vineyard Haven earlier this month, the Tisbury select board agreed Tuesday to replace the benches with individual seating.
The Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority had asked the town to remove the shelter benches, saying they attracted loiterers and campers who caused trouble and intimidated bus passengers.
But the loss of shelter seating came as a blow to senior and disabled bus riders, who have made their disappointment known to town officials.
“We tried to fix a problem, but . . . we forgot about the people who weren’t the problem,” select board member Roy Cutrer said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Police chief Christoper Habekost recommended replacing the benches with divided seating, to keep occupants upright.
“[It] allows for people to sit and prevents people from lying down and sort of hogging those seats,” Mr. Habekost said.
The select board voted unanimously to have town administrator Joseph LaCivita work with the police department to select replacement seating for the bus shelters.
Mr. LaCivita said he would bring the proposed solution back to the select board for approval at an upcoming meeting.
This article appears in April 25, 2025.
Yes thank you. Good move.
Just put the benches back. If there is a particular person that is breaking the law deal with said person as applicable. Otherwise let’s not spend time money and resources trying to reinvent the wheel just to pubish the most vulnerable amongst us
Hmmm. Homeless like bench. Remove bench. Wait. Benches are seating. Ok, now seating you can’t sleep on. Great. Now how about solving for – what do we need to do to help anyone homeless at that bus station overcome their dire situation and not be there? I was in SSA over the winter and it was a scene out of Penn Station. Wake up. It’s only going to get worse. We need to work on the root issues, not seating.
if you build a shelter, the people who need shelter will come here……..by removing this shelter, you have shown, you dont want them here…….
How about including disabled or elderly persons in the bench selection decision to ensure appropriate accessibility?
That had to be one of the stupidest things I have ever seen proposed in this town. That would have meant that some unfortunate disabled person would have had to wait in the snow or the rain for their ride
I agree with the Police assessment on this matter. I have seen it first hand. Why can’t they just make routine patrols?
Make patrols??? It’s 50 yards from the police headquarters! My god, they could look in on it during their smoke breaks.
Bus stops, SSA, cumby’s, veterans park and more have become a free for all. There is zero police presence in vh. It doesn’t mean harass it just means be present. What exactly does the Chief do all day?
Police are doing a great job! They are super busy and have a tremendous work load. They can’t be everywhere!
There are a few great members, but the downtown is in shambles. Highest tax rate on mv and no accountability from the leadership. Tell me when you’ve seen the Chief in the downtown. Busy isn’t a job it’s an excuse. We prioritize what we deem important