Opinion: Regarding safety on the water

To the editor:

Dartmouth residents are blessed with an amazing harbor alongside the beautiful village of Padanaram, so much so that it has been named Best Harbor in the country by a national publication.

However, after returning from a recent boating trip, I have to report that I do not consider it a very safe place.

The state of the cell phone service in the harbor is abysmal. I had more bars of service and more reliable coverage in four harbors on Martha’s Vineyard (including a pretty remote secondary anchorage) as well as in Wood’s Hole, Hadley Harbor and Nantucket.

At this point, in 2024, it is not unreasonable to expect that when you pick up your phone to call for an emergency, such as a fire, a person in medical distress or a drowning, you will be able to get through to emergency services.

From where I sit right now, I am a bit further than swimming distance from land and I am struggling to keep one bar of service on my phone. This is a safety concern for the regular users of the harbor, their guests, the visitors, the shoreside resident and, most importantly, for emergency responders that would themselves have a hard time getting a call in or out in an emergency.

Dartmouth can and should do better.

Anyone that has opposed cell service improvements to the area around the harbor need to be ignored and overridden in the interest of public safety and the greater good that is served by access to modern communication.

I will now row to shore and drive home to send this email as it is the only way it can ensure it will reach its sender.

Sincerely,

Bill Simpson