Monomoy Transportation Study To Look At Refuge, Town Traffic Issues

by Tim Wood

            CHATHAM --- Satellite parking areas and trams are two possible ways to help ease the parking and traffic crunch at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Morris Island.

            At a public meeting kicking off a year-long alternative transportation study for Monomoy last Thursday, a number of Morris Island residents express concern that the results of the study would be an increase of traffic to the refuge, which is only accessible over private roads maintained by a neighborhood association.

            “We’re trying to fit 10 pounds of marshmallows into a five-pound bag,” said John Thornton.  “They just have a postage stamp there.”

            Access to the refuge, traffic and parking have been issues for all of the 30 years he has been in Chatham, said Selectman Ronald Bergstrom.  At one point in the 1970s, he said, residents of the island stationed a guard along the private roads.

            “Like it or not, they’re the federal government and they’ll do as they want,” he said of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the refuge.  “We have to cooperate with them if we’re going to accomplish anything.”

            The $100,000 study is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge. It’s aim is to gather information, identify transportation issues and develop and analyze alternatives which the Fish and Wildlife Service can consider for implementation. Goals include studying alternatives to improve access to the refuge and the Chatham area in general; exploring opportunities for partnerships with local public agencies and businesses; coordinating with the refuge’s comprehensive conservation plan effort; and examining future funding needs and potential funding sources for implementation of the recommendations.

            Facilitator Jeffrey Bryan, a change management specialist with the Volpe Center, steered discussion by the approximately one dozen residents and officials present at the community center toward defining the problem and brainstorming alternatives.  The question raised by Thornton and other Morris Island residents regarding the carrying capacity of the refuge are valid and should be looked at, but may not fit in with the present study.

            Refuge Manager Mike Brady said the idea is “how can we get people from point A to point B.”  Chatham clearly has parking and traffic issues in the summer, and the Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands program administered by the Federal Transit Authority and the Department of the Interior specifically targets federal facilities in close proximity to communities with traffic congestion problems.  Both Monomoy and North and South Beach, which are under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, are considered federal facilities.

            The refuge headquarters has a small parking area that is full almost every day during July and August, Brady said. In years past, the Morris Island causeway has also filled up, at least partly because of the refuge.  Area residents said the causeway has not been particularly crowded this year.

            Although some of those present at the meeting questioned the inclusion of locations such as Bridge Street in the study, Anna Vitone of the Volpe Center said parking and traffic issues throughout town will be considered, as will solutions involving town facilities.

            “You have to go through Chatham to get to the refuge, so it’s all relevant,” she said.

            Some of the problems identified during the meeting include narrow roads, safety issues, environmental concerns, and difficulty accessing the refuge by bicycle or on foot.

            Possible solutions include encouraging alternate forms of transportation, including bicycle and boat; posting a “Full” sign on the causeway so those going to the refuge know there is no parking available; requiring that refuge goers park in an outlying parking area, such as the high school, and be shuttled in via a tram or bus; and widening the shoulder of the causeway so cars can park further off the road to improve safety. Suggestions for Bridge Street included limiting parking to one side of the road or making the road one way.

            One resident cautioned that the problems are “highly season” and urged officials to “not get extreme” in their solutions.  Vitone agreed planners must keep that in mind in weighing the implications of their recommendations. 

            Bryan stressed that all alternatives will be considered.  “Nothing is decided beforehand,” he said.

            Vitone said discussions will be held with town officials and members of the business community to further define the issues, and alternatives will be developed and analyzed over the fall and winter.  Another public meeting will probably be held to discuss possible solutions before a final report is issued next summer.

            Public input is welcome, she added.  An e-mail address, monomoytraffic@gmail.com, has been set up to allow submission of comments, questions and suggestions.

9/4/08