Clear And Present Danger On Orange Street

To the editor: It happened again. Another car accident on Orange Street. Two weeks ago, a car parked on the side of the road in front of 45 Orange was totaled at night in a hit-and-run accident by a driver racing out of town. We are aware of at least four or five serious late-night accidents on Orange Street in the past 2-3 years.  

One car smashed into a telephone pole and destroyed a fence at the corner of Orange and Weymouth. Another car, driven by an obviously intoxicated individual, had a direct hit with the telephone pole in front of 44 Orange. Soon after buying our home at 51 Orange Street, an admitted drunk driver swerved off the road and traveled two house-lengths on the sidewalk (miraculously missing the parked cars) and destroyed the fencing in front of 49 Orange along with our fence and front stoop. Neighbors are reluctant to park their cars on the street at night.

Based on information provided by the Nantucket Police Department: (a) there were 33 reported accidents on Orange Street from May 2017 to October 2022; (b) 61 percent of these accidents did not involve a second car entering from a side street; and (c) of these “one-car” accidents, 50% occurred after midnight.

The circumstances contributing to these accidents are obvious. First, impatient drivers, having to drive slowly on the Main Street cobblestones, rapidly accelerate speed as they drive up the paved road of Orange Street.

Second, after reaching the crest of Orange Street, as drivers race downhill, the road curves considerably to the left – thus exposing the cars and homes on the right side of the street and pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. Of course, near- accidents on the right side of the road cause drivers to instinctively steer their cars to the left, thereby risking collisions with telephone poles and homes on the left side of the street and pedestrians walking on that sidewalk.

Third, and very significantly, given the time of day when these accidents occur, many of the drivers who speed down Orange Street are intoxicated behind the wheel after a night at the bars in town. Sadly, the tragic and life-altering lessons of drunk driving have not changed behavior on Nantucket. Repeatedly, a substantial number of the reported entries in the Town’s police blotters describe instances of individuals being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

In light of the history of accidents on Orange Street, the obvious circumstances that have contributed to this history, and the failure of the town to take action to address the situation, residents on Orange Street now anticipate multiple accidents every summer, and fear far more serious outcomes.

Enough. It is irresponsible for the Town to not take immediate action to address this clear and present danger. Otherwise, we believe it is inevitable that, in one of these future accidents, either the driver, a passenger, or a pedestrian will be killed or severely injured. The town and everyone in an official position of authority should be on notice of this inevitability.

Residents on Orange Street regularly discuss how to make Orange Street safer at night. There are several ways to tackle the situation (“slow/curve” signs, speed bumps, “stop” signs where side streets intersect with Orange, police presence, sobriety checkpoint between 12:00 midnight and 2:00 a.m. at the top of Main before cars take a left onto Orange), but it seems as though only the residents are discussing the issue and no visible changes are taking place. The residents of Orange Street are eager partners to work with the Town to come up with effective and acceptable solutions. The time to act is now.

Amy and Ross Silverstein (and on behalf of 33 other Orange Street residents requesting to appear as co-signatories to this letter)