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Community Corner

Falmouth SSA Boardmember Quits After Public "Contention" Over Terminal Plans

After a public meeting in Woods Hole turned acrimonious, the town of Falmouth's longtime appointed representative to the Steamship Authority's board of governors has stepped down. Now what?

The governors of the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority have a new agenda item for their December meeting: The board's Falmouth governor formally resigned his position last week, according to reports in Martha's Vineyard newspapers and online:


Robert S. Marshall, the town of Falmouth's representative to the Steamship Authority board since 2003, had been expected to step down after last week's public gathering in Woods Hole, held to discuss design options for a new SSA terminal there, grew acrimonious.

"There was some contention," Marshall reportedly told the Vineyard Gazette, adding “It was timely after that meeting that someone else would pick up the ball."

Woods Hole Inn owner Beth Colt, who attended the meeting, posted on Facebook a snapshot of one of the three design options presented to town residents. Her post quickly gathered comments, including many questions:

  • "What's wrong with the current terminal?"
  • "its a "shopping mall" solution for a village harbor - just the deck lighting alone will be polluting"
  • "This new terminal needs to look to the future. Cape Cod needs to start being serious about light rail that links towns and the ferry terminals. If we can't walk on/off the boats to a train platform in the next 30 years then we have our heads in a hole."
  • "The architects should live in Woods Hole for a year before designing--this has NO feel for our village!"
  • "A two-deck parking garage is a horrific idea. The traffic is already bad enough."
  • "Kept hearing that the expanded lot in Falmouth was happening on order to eliminate the other lots in Cataumet and Gifford Street, which has not happened according to signs on route 28 all summer directing people to the Cataumet Overfill lot. Seems Falmouth can to little to nothing to stop the expansion of more and more traffic and parking for this entity and looks like even more is in the works for WH. Why even have the meetings? They are going to do whatever they want."
  • "Disgusting!! May as well allow a McDonalds, neon business signs and replace the old Dome restaurant w/ a Holliday Inn!!"
  • "seems like directing all the traffic from the other lots down to Woods Hole is going to make traffic on (tiny, twisty) Woods Hole Road even more congested than it already is in the summer. Instead of waiting 15 minutes to get out of our driveways, we'll be waiting half an hour!"
  • "I don't live there anymore, but I can't imagine a big garage in Woods Hole."
  • "Just build a bridge and get it over with ! If they intend to spend that much money. Do they intend to install electric walkways, like those I believe were in the Phoenix airport."
  • "Will they then need a three-lane highway to absorb all the traffic?"
Your turn: What do you think of the proposed option for a new Woods Hole SSA terminal to be built in coming years? And what does the departure of Falmouth's representative mean for the terminal plans? Click the photos to see the three options and share your thoughts in a comment below.
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