A Martha’s Vineyard Commission subcommittee decided this week to require a new traffic study for a proposed fuel station off State Road in Vineyard Haven, but not before a bit of open disagreement on the merits.

The automobile has long been an integral part of American life; there are 40 million more registered motor vehicles in this country than licensed drivers.

Yet on Vineyard sidewalks and bike paths this week, people cruised along on bicycles with no worries about traffic and congestion. The parking lots for the Tisbury and Edgartown park and ride programs were jammed full, while bus stops for the Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority were packed with people waiting to be picked up at all hours of the day.

An automatic traffic signal has been placed in Monument Square, Oak Bluffs, the first traffic signal in southeastern Massachusetts to be accepted and approved by the Department of Public Works, according to town officials. With five streets opening into the square and carrying the bulk of Island traffic, this signal splits and divides the stream of vehicles in a way calculated to eliminate practically all confusion.