Memorial Day Was Busy and Crowded, Good for Businesses

By JULIA RAPPAPORT

Traffic was up, sales were up and spirits were up to match as
business owners across the board reported a generally busy Memorial Day
weekend and a healthy start to the season this year.

Steamship Authority traffic to the Vineyard between Thursday and
Saturday was up four per cent for passenger traffic and two and a half
per cent for car traffic over last year. And Saturday alone saw a 19 per
cent increase in passenger traffic from the previous year.

Martha\'s Vineyard Airport manager Sean Flynn reported that jet
fuel sales were up 45 per cent from the previous year for a weekend that
started on Thursday and ended Tuesday. No numbers were available yet for
actual landings.

But Michelle Haynes, communications director at Cape Air, reported
no delays in flights and a blockbuster weekend for travel. The airline
flew just under 500 passengers from Boston to the Vineyard. Last year,
due to bad weather, about 50 passengers made the trip. \"I am very
happy, ecstatic that we had one of the best in Cape Air history,\"
she said. Ms. Haynes partly attributed the heavy traffic to good
weather, but also to the first holiday weekend in which the connecting
service between Jet Blue and Cape Air, which began in mid-March, was in
effect. She anticipates that the new connection will continue to
contribute to an upward trend in Cape Air passengers throughout the
summer. \"It\'s 11 steps from the Jet Blue gate to Cape
Air,\" she said.

The increase in traffic came despite the cost of gas, which rose in
Massachusetts during the week leading up to the holiday. The American
Automobile Association reported that the average gas price in New
England was $3.09 a week before Memorial Day, up 6.3 cents from the
previous week and 12.2 cents from a year ago. Gas prices on the Vineyard
are of course much higher, ranging well over $3.50 a gallon in most
places.

Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority terminal manager
Bridget Tobin also said the summer-like weather was a boon. Boat line
parking lots on the mainland filled up quickly and by Saturday both
extra lots at Cataumet and Gifford street were in use. Numbers told part
of the story. Between Thursday and Saturday, 24,940 people rode the
ferries, and 3,859 cars were carried on the Vineyard run.

Chris Scott, executive director of the Martha\'s Vineyard
Preservation Trust, reported a line of passengers waiting to leave Oak
Bluffs that reached from the ferry dock all the way to the end of Ocean
Park on Saturday. \"I\'ve never seen anything like it,\"
he said.

Across the water the scene was just as jammed. On Monday a 17-mile
traffic backup was reported at the Sagamore Bridge as a flood of weekend
visitors poured off Cape Cod.

On the Vineyard most merchants reported doing brisk business.
Patricia Wheeler, concierge at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown, said
it was an extremely busy weekend with all 130 available rooms booked on
Saturday. She said the Coach House, the hotel restaurant, served over
300 brunches on Sunday morning.

Mary Gosselin, manager of Island Cove Mini Golf, reported that
Sunday was the busiest day for miniature golf. \"On the first
beautiful day, people head to the beach,\" she said. \"After
that, they\'re looking for something to do.\" The weekend was,
on a whole, busier than Memorial Day last year, she said.

The Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs sold 5,250 rides, up from
last year. \"It\'s a start to the season, a quick
burst,\" said manager Robin Meader.

Robert Murphy, co-owner of Seasons, the Game Room and the Lookout
Tavern in Oak Bluffs, was out surveying the scene on Sunday night, while
a large crowd listened to live music at Seasons. \"It was nice to
see,\" he said of the late night hustle and bustle. \"It has
been such a quiet spring.\"