Arlington National Cemetery Banning Bikes
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“The Department of the Army is planning to almost completely forbid riding a bicycle in Arlington National Cemetery. Proposed new regulations will require Congressional approval. Evidently Cemetery leadership views riding a bicycle as a purely recreational activity, disrespectful of the proper decorum and decency of the place, and not as a form of transportation.”
It is not straightforward, but you can comment on the proposed regulations. Instructions are as follows:
You may submit comments, identified by 32 CFR part 553, Docket No. USA-2015-HQ-0046 and or by Regulatory Information Number (RIN) 0720-AA60 by any of the following methods:
- Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
- Mail: Department of Defense, Office of the Deputy Chief Management Officer, Directorate of Oversight and Compliance, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Mailbox #24, Alexandria, VA 22350-1700. Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and docket number or RIN for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.
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I don’t know why these would require Congressional approval. In fact, I’m pretty sure they don’t.
But everyone who thinks this is a bad idea should comment. It’s easy: click here, then click on “Comment Now!” on the right. Then type what you would like in the box. You don’t have to add your name and contact info, but you are welcome to.
What should you type? Up to you, but here’s what I wrote (you should change the first paragraph and the part about “I personally”, so the Army won’t treat these as 1 form letter):
I am writing to comment specifically on the proposed ban on bicycle transportation through Army National Military Cemeteries in section 553.33(c)(
of the proposed rules.
The Army should not close off the Army National Military Cemeteries to the people riding bicycles through the Cemeteries. Doing so would close off the Cemeteries from the communities in which they are located. Closing off the Cemeteries would run counter to the intent of 10 USC 446 and would not “fully honor the service and sacrifices of the deceased members of the armed forces buried or inurned in the Cemeteries”.
As a resident of Arlington County, Virginia, I am proud to be a neighbor of Arlington National Cemetery (ANC). A glance at any map of Arlington County makes it clear that ANC is an important part of the County – not only does ANC constitute a significant portion of the total area of Arlington County, ANC sits at a Gateway between most of Arlington County and the District of Columbia. Surrounding ANC are high-volume, high-speed freeways.
Most people that need to get from DC to the heart of Arlington County must contend with ANC. When people use transit, they travel underneath ANC. When people drive, they travel around ANC. But for people walking and biking, we can’t go over it, we can’t go around it, so we must go through it, as the children’s rhyme instructs.
ANC must take its role as a part of Arlington County seriously. It must be a good neighbor. Recognizing that ANC is part of the fabric of Arlington County, a place that actively encourages people to travel by foot and bike, ANC must play the part of the good neighbor, and allow bicycling on designated routes.
Allowing bicycling on designated routes does not run counter to the “standards of decorum and decency”. In fact, allowing bicycling on designated routes would further honor the dead of the Armed Forces. I personally commuted through ANC daily for a number of years. The stunningly beautiful ride past the gravestones of our nation’s heroes served as a daily reminder to me of the sacrifices upon with our freedoms are based. On two wheels, wind lapping against my skin, I was able to interact with the cemetery in a much more personal, consistent manner than most. The cemetery was not an abstract hill off in the distance as I gazed across the Potomac, but a real, tangible part of my life.
The Army should not close off the Army National Military Cemeteries to the daily lives of its neighbors. As noted In fact, making access more difficult would run counter to the intent of 10 USC 446 and would not “fully honor the service and sacrifices of the deceased members of the armed forces buried or inurned in the Cemeteries”.
The Army implicitly recognizes that the public should have access to the Army National Military Cemeteries, in that people walking are welcome to transverse the cemeteries on foot. A person riding a bicycle through a cemetery is in many ways similar to a person walking through a cemetery: that person is exposed to the elements and able to use all of their senses to interact with their environment. A person on a bicycle, like a person walking, is moving primarily under their own power.
As a matter of administrative law, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is insufficient on its face with respect to this provision, as it does not provide any explanation or rationale for this provision. Moreover, the claim that the National Environmental Policy Act does not apply because the proposed rule would not significantly alter ongoing activities is incorrect, as the proposed rule would complete ban the ongoing activity of bicycle transportation through the Army National Military Cemeteries. Finally, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking does not include any cost-benefit analysis of the proposed ban on bicycle transportation through the Cemeteries, and thus is in violation of Executive Orders 13563 and 12866.
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