Martha’s Vineyard Regional Transportation Plan 2020–2040 July 2019 Prepared by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and the Martha’s Vineyard Joint Transportation Committee in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, and Massachusetts Department of Transportation Martha’s Vineyard MPO / Joint Transportation Committee c/o The Martha’s Vineyard Commission P.O. Box 1447 Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 Phone: 508-693-3453 Fax: 508-693-7894 The preparation of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) was financed in part through grant[s] from the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, under the State Planning and Research Program, Section 505 [or Metropolitan Planning Program, Section 104(f)] of Title 23, U.S. Code. The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Please note: All maps are included in this RTP for illustrative purposes only, and are available in higher quality from the MVC staff if requested. Cover (clockwise from top right): A Steamship Authority ferry docking in Vineyard Haven, taxis staging at the Vineyard Haven Terminal, bicyclists along Ocean Drive in Oak Bluffs, solar canopies at Cronig’s Market in West Tisbury. Martha’s Vineyard Regional Transportation Plan 2020–2040 July 2019 CONTENTS Participants and Endorsement 1 Executive Summary 3 Transportation Planning Organizations 5 Section 1: Transportation Systems at a Glance 6 Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority 6 Martha’s Vineyard Airport 7 Roads and Automobiles 7 Vineyard Transit Authority 7 Taxis and Rideshare 8 Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure 8 Mopeds 8 Section 2: Regional Transportation Plan Guidance and Process 9 Federal Legislation 9 MAP-21 and FAST Act 9 Title VI and Environmental Justice 10 State Legislation and Guidance 10 Regional Planning 10 Greenhouse Gas Analysis 11 Metropolitan Planning Organizations and the Global Warming Solutions Act 11 Regional Greenhouse Gas Tracking and Evaluation in RTPs 12 Planning and Outreach 12 Performance Measures for Martha’s Vineyard 13 Criteria for Project Prioritization 13 Section 3: Martha’s Vineyard Overview 14 Demographics 14 Population 14 Age and Gender 15 Population Projections 15 Economy 16 Economic Development Locations 16 Notes on the Seasonal Economy 16 Establishments and Employees 17 Income and Earnings 19 Housing 19 Seasonality 20 Land Use and Transportation 21 Estimates of Future Growth 23 Section 4: The Regional Transportation Network 24 General Objectives 24 Transportation Demand Projections 25 Water Transportation 25 Freight Transportation 25 Air Transportation 25 Roads and Automobiles 25 Bus and Van Service 25 Taxis and Rideshare 25 Bicycles and Pedestrians 25 Section 5: Environmental Issues 26 Overview 26 Environmental Mitigation (General) 26 Climate Change 27 Overview 27 Sea-Level Rise 28 Mitigation and Adaptation 29 Climate Change Legislation 30 Local Planning 31 Other Concerns Related to Greenhouse Gas Emissions 33 Electric Vehicles 33 Transportation Improvement Projects and Climate Change 36 Objectives 37 Proposed Actions 37 Section 6: Water Transportation 38 Overview 38 List of Harbors 39 Vessels Operating in Vineyard Waters 39 Trends and Issues 40 Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority 40 Seasonal Passenger Ferries 47 The Chappy Ferry 49 Cruise Ships 51 Recent Developments (Completed) 51 Objectives 51 Proposed Actions 51 Section 7: Freight Transportation 53 Overview 53 Trends and Issues 53 Objectives 55 Proposed Actions 55 Section 8: Air Transportation 56 Overview 56 Trends and Issues 57 Objectives 59 Proposed Actions 59 Section 9: Roads and Automobiles 60 Overview 60 Trends and Issues 60 Roads 61 Traffic Counts (Selected) 64 Parking 65 Pavement 66 Looking Ahead: Key Locations 67 Five Corners 67 State/Look/Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Intersection 68 Upper State Road 69 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road 70 The Triangle 70 Oak Bluffs Downtown 71 Aquinnah Circle 73 Menemsha 74 Capstone Project in West Tisbury 74 Context-Sensitive Design 75 Objectives 76 Proposed Actions 76 Section 10: Bus and Van Service 78 Overview 78 Vineyard Transit Authority 78 Other Bus Services 80 Trends and Issues 81 Vineyard Transit Authority 81 Other Issues 83 Electrification of ther VTA Fleet 83 Objectives 84 Proposed Actions 84 Section 11: Taxis and Rideshare 85 Overview 85 Trends and Issues 86 Objectives 87 Proposed Actions 87 Section 12: Bicycles and Pedestrians 88 Overview 88 Description and Analysis of Existing Facilities 89 Roadways 89 Sidewalks 89 Shared-Use Paths 91 Trails 93 Trends and Issues 94 Objectives 95 Proposed Actions 96 Section 13: Mopeds 97 Overview 97 Trends and Issues 97 Objectives 98 Proposed Actions 98 Section 14: Safety and Security 99 Section 15: Livability in Transportation 103 Overview 103 Livability in Development and TIP Projects 105 Complete Streets 105 Multimodal Links 106 Objectives 106 Proposed Actions 106 Section 16: Financial Information and Projects 108 Financial Analysis and Constraints 108 Highway Funding Projections 109 Transit Funding Projections 109 Proposed Projects, Costs, and Timeframes 110 Summary and Conclusion 111 Appendix 114 Facing down the Five Corners intersection in Vineyard Haven PARTICIPANTS Martha’s Vineyard Committee of Signatories Alice Butler Chairman, Vineyard Transit Authority Jonathan Gulliver Administrator, MassDOT Highway Division Stephanie Pollack Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, MassDOT Douglas Sederholm Chairman, Martha’s Vineyard Commission Martha’s Vineyard Joint Transportation Committee Voting Members Leon Brathwaite County of Dukes County Richard Combra, Jr. Town of Oak Bluffs Keith Emin Town of Chilmark Angela Grant Vineyard Transit Authority Jennifer Rand Town of West Tisbury Ray Tattersall Town of Tisbury Adam Turner Martha’s Vineyard Commission Durwood Vanderhoop Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head/Aquinnah Vacant Town of Aquinnah Vacant Town of Edgartown Non-Voting Members Pamela Haznar, P.E. MassDOT District 5 Timothy Kochan MassDOT District 5 Jeffrey McEwen Federal Highway Administration Mary Beth Mello Federal Transit Administration Bryan Pounds MassDOT Simon Shapiro Oak Bluffs (Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee) Derek Shooster MassDOT William Veno, AICP Martha’s Vineyard Commission Vacant Martha’s Vineyard Airport Vacant Steamship Authority Martha’s Vineyard Commission Staff Adam Turner Executive Director Sheri Caseau Water Resources Planner Dan Doyle Special Projects Planner Alex Elvin General Planner Christine Flynn Economic Development and Affordable Housing Planner Michael Mauro Transportation Program Manager Lucy Morrison Executive Assistant Curt Schroeder Administrator and Chief Fiscal Officer Chris Seidel Cartographer and GIS Coordinator Jo-Ann Taylor Coastal Planner and DCPC Coordinator William Veno, AICP Senior Planner 1 ENDORSEMENT 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for 2020–2040 comes at a time of transition for Martha’s Vineyard. As seasonal crowds con- tinue to grow, and vehicles continue to strain the Island’s roadways and other infrastructure, transportation planning has focused more intently on alternatives to single-occupant automobile use. At the same time, state and global action in regard to climate change has helped generate Islandwide advocacy and planning efforts that aim in part to reduce fossil fuel use in the transporta- tion sector. Rising sea levels associated with climate change will have a particular impact on the Island’s roadways, some of which will need to be reconfigured or protected as a result of increased flooding during storms. Building upon the previous Martha’s Vineyard RTP, issued in 2015, this update provides both general and detailed analyses of the Island transportation network, including all regular modes of travel to and within Dukes County. It also draws from the MVC’s 2019 Martha’s Vineyard Statistical Profile, which collects a large amount of data related to many aspects of Island life, including transportation. Beginning with section 6, the plan examines each mode of transportation in terms of trends and issues, and for each mode we offer a series of objectives and proposed actions that were developed in collaboration with transportation system administrators, MVC staff, members of the MVC’s Joint Transportation Committee and Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and the public at large. Section 5, on environmental issues; and section 15, on the concept of livability, also include objectives and proposed actions, since both topics should figure prominently in the transportation planning process. Based on our analysis of trends and issues (and within the constraints of state and federal budget projections), this plan recom- mends 18 projects totaling $10.5 million for the years 2025–2029, and and the allocation of funds based on project type for the years 2030–2040. Section 16 includes a table of estimated budgets and a general timeframe for each project, although funding at this point is not guaranteed. The proposed projects will be reviewed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Mass DOT), and those that are approved will be included in the Island’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which is updated every year and details all funded transportation projects over a four-year period. Proposed Funding Allocations: 2025–2040 2025–2029 14% Bike and pedestrian improvements Climate change mitigation/adaptation 44%