Residents Call For Answers, Explanations For 5:30 AM Freight Ferry

Residents of Woods Hole lambasted the Steamship Authority at a June 8 hearing brought about after a petition signed by 160 people was submitted to the authority, objecting to the 5:30 AM freight ferry from Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard.

In releasing its proposed schedule for summer and fall 2023, the authority outraged residents by continuing to schedule a 5:30 AM freight ferry that has been a source of ire in the community since 2018.

More than 60 attendees were present for the meeting, which was held over Zoom despite a number of residents calling for in-person meetings. Director of Shoreside Operations Alison Fletcher, Communications Director Sean Driscoll, and General Manager Robert B. Davis presided over the meeting for the authority, accompanied by General Counsel Terrance Kennealley. Authority representatives were not permitted to respond to or deliberate any of the testimony offered by the public during the meeting.

Nathaniel Trumbull, who submitted the petition on behalf of the 160 signees, peppered the authority with demands for supporting data and evidence that can prove that it is not directly or indirectly responsible for the health impacts imposed upon residents who are routinely woken up in the early morning hours by trucks that “race to make the 5:30 AM freight ferry every day.”

“By the way,” Mr. Trumbull said, “it’s the trucks that are bothering us. It’s not automobiles and passengers. A 5:30 AM daily ferry schedule for automobiles and passengers would be perfectly acceptable. As best we can tell, freight shippers prefer the earlier boats for the convenience of drivers so that they can move around unfettered on the island before traffic builds up. But since when are commercial interests placed above legitimate public health impacts and concerns?”

Health concerns aside, Mr. Trumbull questioned the authority on the severity of safety impacts that freight trucks have on the community. On one occasion, he said he witnessed a truck not stop for a school bus picking up children. When followed the truck to the SSA Woods Hole terminal and asked the driver why he did not stop, the driver told him that his load was too heavy to allow him to stop in time for the bus.

Many of the residents who spoke at the meeting belabored points that have been iterated time and time again when it comes to the SSA’s relationship with Woods Hole residents who feel as though the authority does not care about them enough to warrant a legitimate consideration of their concerns.

“I think it’s very very important that there is a substantive response, that this doesn’t go into the suggestion box with the grinder,” said Jonathan Goldman, who said he sleeps with earplugs to block the noise emanating from the road that is 200 feet away from his Sidney Street home.

Resident Damien Kuffler of Gosnold Road echoed Mr. Goldman’s points, saying that it has never been explained by the SSA why a 5:30 AM ferry was so urgent and necessary. Mr. Kuffler recalled that years ago, the SSA had said that the 5:30 AM ferry was a test run, and if public outcry ensued, then it would cease to occur.

“The public’s complaints and concerns regarding it were never addressed,” he said. “Despite the many claims that the SSA has made that it will resolve these problems, no action has been taken.”

Mr. Kuffler asserted that the SSA serves only its own interests and subsequently tries to force those interests on the community.

“It’s going to do what it wants because it has the right to do what it wants, by its own claims,” he said. “Clearly the Steamship Authority has shown no interest in addressing these questions or calming the concerns of the residents and others who pass through this beautiful area.”

Edward DeWitt, chairman of the Falmouth Transportation Committee, attended the meeting to speak as a resident. He noted that the SSA’s enabling act defines the authority as having to provide “adequate transportation of persons and necessities of life” to the Vineyard. Mr. DeWitt believes that the SSA has greatly exceeded providing adequate service of necessities, and pointed out that many of the things the SSA ships on its early morning ferries would not be deemed as necessities. He implored the authority to consider what he called reasonable and economically viable solutions and alternatives to the 5:30 AM ferry, such as the use of New Bedford as a port.

Another resident, Judy Laster, made numerous verbal requests for public records pertaining to the authority’s communications and deliberations of the annual schedule, as well as any internal and external communications relating to state and federal clean water and air standards. Ms. Laster joined other petitioners in holding the authority responsible for environmental hazards linked to the influx of freight trucks in the village and said that because of the lack of transparency and accountability from the authority, the residents of Woods Hole are unable to trust the organization.

“The bigger problem is creating a public health hazard to not just residents but to anyone who breathes the air or uses the waters in the area,” she said. “This stems from the 5:30 AM freight run and the fact that you have been unwilling to do anything to mitigate the impact of the ever-increasing truck traffic that you are creating not only in our community but all the communities that these trucks come through on Cape Cod… I hope someday that you will actually hear us and listen to us and do something about it.”

Business owner and resident Becky Connors spoke at the meeting because she said she wanted to put a face to the residents and business owners of the community who are impacted by the 5:30 AM ferry and related trucks.

“The traffic rushing off those boats and to those boats is going to kill somebody someday, and I really hope it’s not me or somebody in the village,” Ms. Connors said.

In his address to the authority, Stephen Laster of Woods Hole Road expressed his frustration with the meeting being confined to Zoom, which allows for as little engagement as possible between the authority and petitioners. He denounced the authority for its lack of accountability and demanded that the board provide evidence and data to support the necessity of a 5:30 AM ferry.

“Today, every time on the water when I see a ferry I see mismanagement, I see blatant disregard for the people of Woods Hole and I see a lost opportunity and it’s sad,” Mr. Laster said. “You owe that transparency to the people you serve. And mostly I hope you will find in your hearts a real solution. The more you harden your position the more we will fight you, I promise you that.”

Originally published by The Falmouth Enterprise