voices: the community speaks of Nantucket and GHYC

Joanne Marcoux on 12/24/03

There are many sound reasons to reject the proposed buillding of the Great Harbor Yacht Club at the shipyard. These reasons, some emotional, environmental, aesthetic, moral, historic, are all valid.

There will be much debate on any and all of the above. But one issue must certainly be almost beyond debate - TRAFFIC!

How can Union St. and Washington St. be expected to bear anymore burden? Adding cars belonging to 400 families and their guests, staff, service trucks and boat trailers just goes beyond healthy logic.

This area is already stalled and choked so badly that in season it can take as long as thirty minutes to get into or out of town.

Substantial addition of traffic to this neighborhood would parallel the awful situation imposed by the sewer work two years ago with the disturbed flow congesting Orange St., Pleasant St., and adjoining side streets.

Now it may be argued that no such congestion exists at the site of the Nantucket Yacht Club downtown. So, why would the proposed club on Washington St. Ext. be any different? Two reasons - the Nantucket Yacht Club is in an area of town with on street parking and pedestrian accessibility. Plenty of members can and do walk there. It is user friendly. Only the opposite can be said of Washington St. Extension.

People may argue that traffic is already so bad that it won't make any difference. But it will and it will be monstrous.

Lets work together to make our beautiful Nantucket better, not worse.