As the Steamship Authority embarks on a major reconstruction plan for its Woods Hole terminal, village residents are raising concerns about aesthetics and increased traffic. They want to put New Bedford service back on the table for discussion.
Robert S. Marshall, the Steamship Authority governor representing Falmouth, resigned from the board last week. He sent his resignation to the Falmouth selectmen late Thursday evening, following a public meeting in Woods Hole about the proposed terminal redesign there.
The Steamship Authority will increase rates for parking and some freight trucks on the Martha’s Vineyard route next year. Meeting Tuesday morning at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven, the boat line board of governors unanimously approved an $85.3 million 2014 operating budget.
The Steamship Authority is considering increases to parking and freight fares for the Martha’s Vineyard route to offset a projected rise in the cost of service. The SSA management proposed that the additional revenue should come from rate increases on the Martha’s Vineyard route.
After a study of options, Steamship Authority governors Tuesday considered a recommendation to replace the aging freight ferry Governor with a 235-foot freight vessel similar in size to the ferry Martha’s Vineyard.
As I watch the many hearings to discuss how we can make Stop and Shop solve all our traffic problems, I can’t help ask, what is the cause of our traffic in Vineyard Haven and what is the solution? The answer is the Steamship Authority — the elephant in the neighborhood.
With everything from cost and size to lunch counters under consideration, the Steamship Authority this week continued a discussion about vessel replacement alternatives.
Meeting on the Vineyard Tuesday morning, the governors heard an update about plans to begin replacing some of the boat line fleet.
It’s been 65 years since the first Steamship Authority was created, signed into existence by Massachusetts Gov. Robert Bradford in 1948 as the New Bedford, Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority. Regular ferry service had existed prior to that date, beginning in the early 1800s. The arrival of the Old Colony Railroad in the 1870s brought train tracks right to the wharf in Woods Hole, spearheading the growth of both the Island summer tourism industry and the boat lines, which were then privately owned.
When Allie Joseph was a little girl, she would spot mermaids while on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, insisting to her mother that they were there, in the depths of Vineyard Sound.
On a recent Tuesday Allie, now in college, stood with parents David and Chris and sister Nikki.
Expanding transportation services among airlines, ferries, buses and trains have made the Vineyard more accessible than ever this summer.
Four airlines are now operating summer service between the Island and three major metropolitan areas. And two months ago train service began between Boston and the Cape that connects with a shuttle to the Steamship Authority.
