Town Considers Options For Tobey Island Access

     Since the town finished dredging off Monument Beach and under the Tobey Island Bridge earlier this year, the water in that area has become too deep for those who want to go shellfishing on the island’s shores to walk across from the mainland.
     Instead, people have been using the privately owned Tobey Island Bridge to access the waterfront areas of the island that are open to the public.
     Town Administrator Thomas M. Guerino told selectmen that the property owners on the island, who maintain the bridge, want to find a way to allow access over the bridge without opening themselves up to suits if someone were to fall or be injured.
     Mr. Guerino said he had asked the town’s property insurance company to look into ways they could underwrite that use, something he said would require Town Meeting approval.
     Speaking from the audience, James A. Mulvey of Buzzards Bay told selectmen that a 4-foot by 4-foot No Trespassing sign with red lettering had been put up, and that access was, indeed, an issue.
     Mr. Mulvey asked if the island residents received town services and was told that no plowing was done on island roads, but that residents did receive trash service.
     When Mr. Mulvey suggested that the island owners simply put up a sign saying something such as, “Cross at your own risk,” Mr. Guerino said he would run the idea by the homeowners and counsel, but that he believed such a sign did not always confer protection if an accident happened.
     He reiterated that he believed the homeowners want to find a way to solve the liability issue and allow access and that he would continue to work on the issue.
     Charles J. Miller of Monument Beach suggested researching whether the bridge might be an ancient way and said that, if so, there might be a right of access, regardless of who maintains the bridge.