Field Notes
by Peter B Brace

MAKING THE CONNECTION Planning Director Andrew Vorce said that the connection between the Pacific Bank and the new post office parking lot on Pleasant Street isn't officially open for use yet. Vorce said that both parties have agreed to sign an easement agreement, but that the new post office thruway will not open up until the easement is finalized.

The connection between the two lots is vital to making the island's first roundabout at the intersection of Hooper Farm Road, Pleasant Street and Sparks Avenue work, because patrons of both establishments will enter a combined parking lot through the bank's driveway on Sparks Avenue and exit through the post office driveway onto Pleasant Street. These two uses draw a significant amount of traffic to the area, and without the new entry/exit scheme, the Planning Board believes the congestion at the intersection will be even worse.

Once the easement documents are signed, the Planning Board will file its decision with the Town Clerk's office. A 20-day appeal period follows and if no one appeals the decision, the board can sign the certificate of occupancy that the building inspector must also sign.

Arthur Reade, attorney for Al DeMarco, the owner of the property being leased to the U.S. Postal Service, could not give a date when the new post office branch will open.

As for the roundabout itself, Vorce added that the final coat of asphalt is scheduled for this week and that it was held up because of design issues relating to the islands separating the travel lanes entering and exiting the roundabout.

SUMMER MEET-UPS Memorial Day meant no Planning Board meeting. But fear not, the Monday meeting will take place tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Planning Department at 2 Fairgrounds Rd.

The Nantucket Planning & Economic Development Commission's downtown traffic study kick-off is set for June 4 at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall at the Nantucket Atheneum at 1 India St. Looking farther into the month of June, the NP&EDC is holding its regular June meeting, which is also its annual meeting, on June 28 at 2 Fairgrounds Rd. at 7 p.m.

THE EELGRASS IS THE THING The plight of Nantucket's dwindling scallop population is urgent enough to draw the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Last summer, the EPA, aided by the Maria Mitchell Association, began a study to learn what it could about Nantucket's bay scallops, including all the factors contributing to the poor harvests of the last two seasons. Using scallopers' knowledge of Nantucket Harbor, 48 study sites were chosen. Then in early July and again in early September surveys of scallop density, age population structure, eelgrass condition, water quality and scallop predators were done.

Originally, the EPA wanted just one summer's worth of data, but this summer they've decided to extend the length of the study for the summer of 2007 and possibly 2008. The reasoning, according to Dr. Bob Kennedy, Director of Natural Science at Maria Mitchell, is that more data will paint a more complete picture of Nantucket's scallop situation.

Kennedy, Dr. Peter Boyce, Forrest Kennedy, Valerie Hall and all of Maria Mitchell's aquarium staff will form the research team.

To do this, the EPA is paying Maria Mitchell's science department $35,000 to gather information for the study. The EPA and Maria Mitchell will use the information collected from this study to model scallop habitats and to help restore scallop populations that have declined or disappeared

on the East Coast. I