Welcome. Edgartown News was born from the simple fact that I have ink and Dektol in my veins and I need to write and photograph more than I need air or food, and from my love for this little town where I grew up and raised my family, the town I have left a few times but can't quite shake for good. Here you will find the wanderings and musings, photographs and commentary; the people, places, and happenings - past and present - of a small island town: my home town.
Okay, the other day I thought "Summer's over." How wrong I was. Today we were back in the upper-80s and the only place to be was underwater.
My new friend.
Spider crab graveyard.
The sand below perfectly matched the water activity above: gentle swells, coming from? Not a boat, as is sometimes the case, but some kind of off-shore weather activity.
Under-water light show.
The young man in the center was having his very first salt water experience. The jury was deliberating.
Main Street, Edgartown, corner of Main and Green on a typical August day. Headed out-bound is #97, the 40' Xcelsior x 8'5"diesel.
Corner of Main and Green.
Cyclists think it is safer to ride on the sidewalk, but it is not - not for them or the pedestrians they are vying for space with.
Dilemma
This is an older VTA diesel bus, an International RE, (There are six - 40' long and 3 35' long in the VTA fleet, all 8' wide). Some of the electric buses are 6" wider than this (not counting mirrors).
You can see the truck getting ready to pass the cyclists, only a short distance from the blind corner at Green Avenue.
This car is giving proper safe distance to the cyclists, with little room to spare. Cars coming from the opposite direction find themselves in a bind when passing bikes at the blind corner at Green and coming upon this scenario.
#103, BYD K9S - 35' long x 8.46' wide x 11'3" high. Corner of Main and Green Avenue.
International RE, exiting Pease's Point Way.
International RE (looks to be 40'), exiting Pease's Point Way onto Main.
This is the corner of Green Avenue and Main. The juxtaposition of vehicles with pedestrians on the sidewalk is very close here. In order to avoid oncoming traffic, vehicles sometimes come right onto the sidewalk - sometimes going very fast - or, while trying to avoid bicyclists here will veer into opposite lane, and since the corner is blind, find themselves suddenly facing oncoming traffic trying to avoid bicycles on the other side.
An example of the young families that populate the sidewalks during the summer.
This car is allowing a safe margin between it and the bicyclist and will pull back into its lane just in time to avoid oncoming traffic - a dance that takes place with bicyclists and impatient drivers all day long.
This bus is 8.5' wide, BYD electric. The distance between the center line and the sidewalk is 10'4." This demonstrates the recovery time the bus needs after passing through the curve.
More car/bicycle dancing - passing (because who has time to wait a few seconds - got to get down town and get a parking space!)...
...and pulling back in in the nick of time.
Collision course.
There's room for recovery here, but sometimes cars from both directions are passing bikes unsafely at the same time (because, you know, it's important to arrive at the next traffic jam on time).
#103, 35'x 8.5'x11'3" BYD electric, rounding the corner at Pease's Point Way, rear tire straddling the sidewalk. Pat and John Hayes' fence is damaged at least once every summer by a VTA bus.
New Flyer Midi, diesel, 8' wide, outbound, corner of Main and Green.
BYD electric (K9S, 8.5x35?) Outbound, corner of Main and Green.
VTA buses, July 28, 2020
Corner of Main and Green looking west, Friday evening August 14 from approximately 5:30-8:30 PM.
Sunday morning August 16. A sample of VTA bus views from a few different angles, recorded on a rainy Sunday morning; focusing on size and maneuverability in the context of a residential and historic neighborhood, a compilation of clips gleaned from approximately two hours of recording.
