A new service run by the Vineyard Transit Authority starting this fall will give Island seniors and people with disabilities an affordable way to get to medical appointments on Cape Cod.

The one-year trial program, Cape Area Minivan, will offer one trip a week to the Cape and drop off passengers at the door of requested medical facilities. The trip also includes getting passengers on and off the ferry. The program will be in addition to a weekly trip to Boston that the VTA already runs on Tuesdays.

Martha’s Vineyard Commission regional planner Dan Doyle, who has worked closely with the VTA on the program, updated commissioners at their meeting last Thursday night. He said a timetable and fee structure are still being worked on, but the service is expected to start in mid-September.

VTA administrator Angie Grant said later the transportation agency worked with Healthy Aging Martha’s Vineyard as well as the MVC to develop the program. She said funding comes from a $50,000 federal grant administered by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Ms. Grant explained that a transportation option to the Cape was needed because larger Boston hospitals have satellite campuses on the Cape with medical specialists not available on-Island.

“It’s meant to fill in that niche so folks don’t have to go all the way to Boston to get treatments,” she said.

In other business last Thursday, the commission approved modifications to an expansion plan at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown. The plan calls for 26 new rooms and several new cottages along with a spa in the main building.

The original $55 million expansion plan was approved in 2008, but construction was delayed due to the 2008 financial crisis and ownership changes. Attorney Sean Murphy represented the Harbor View at the meeting and explained that new owner Bernard Chiu is eager to move forward with the expansion with an adjusted plan to recoup the large investment.

“We’re here because for the first time in 10 years it’s a viable plan,” said Mr. Murphy.

Construction is now expected to begin in October.

Mr. Murphy said the Lighthouse Grill and Henry’s bar will close during the off-season for renovations.

Commissioners voted that the changes were not significant enough to warrant a public hearing.

Commissioners also approved modifications with no public hearing to the landscape design for the Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s move to the old marine hospital in Vineyard Haven. Changes were needed because of archaeological discoveries made during the excavation of the property Plans were reconfigured to limit disturbance to buried objects.

“I find it curious that a museum known for preserving old things had to change their plans because of old things,” observed commissioner Richard Toole.

Commissioners also approved the creation of five lots for development along Division Road in Edgartown through a Form A (Approval Not Required) application. The plan is endorsed by the Edgartown planning board.