Gate Changes and Closings at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall

[sarahalow]

I live next to Henry Gate on the other side of Route 50. With the Route 50 bike path being effectively GONE, going through Ft. Myer was the only safe way to/from work. It is too bad this change couldn’t have happened after the Route 50 bike path is re-constructed.

[dasgeh]

@Tim Kelley 43603 wrote:

Will this have an effect on anyone here?

Wow. Lucky I moved. This was my old commute — Henry Gate to ANC (assuming I time it right, if not, Main Gate to ANC) to get to work, and Wright Gate to Henry Gate (or Main Gate) home. There were plenty of regulars making that commute, and while detouring from Henry to Main Gate isn’t horrible (adds ~ 3/4 mile, I think), closing the Wright Gate so early is a big hit. ANC opens at 8am, and there is normally a line of bikes lined up to go through right when it opens. If it takes another 15 minutes to get to your desk (which is an absolute minimum – that’s what I would need, and I work just at the end of the Memorial Bridge), you’d get to work at 8:15am. You’d have to leave by 5:45pm, probably a few minutes earlier, to get to Wright Gate by 6pm. That’s a 9.5 hour workday, which is what we have to work for the flex schedule at my office. If you miss the Wright Gate, you’re forced going all the way around — either up through Courthouse (or along 50, whenever that’s finished), or along the Washington Blvd trail.

In other words, closing the Wright Gate so early may close of the option of bike commuting for lots of people. Is there any way to get them to leave it open to 6:30 or 7pm? I know I would have needed that extra 30 minutes most days, and I imagine those who work further from Memorial Bridge need even more than that.

[dasgeh]

Also, if they would open Henry Gate, the Henry Gate – Henderson Hall Gate connection would eliminate the need for a path on the East side of Washington Blvd.

[cephas]

@Tim Kelley 43603 wrote:

Will this have an effect on anyone here?

This is great! I’ve always just avoided the place altogether because it seemed so complicated, and figured out a way over or under based on the bridge I navigate, but now I can see a couple short cuts.

[Steve]

This doesn’t affect me, but I did have a though about a way to approach them about this. First, it should be noted that they are doing this because of budget constraints, not just to be difficult.

That being said, different bases surprisingly often have different rules about entering base. Some places CAC cards are necessary, sometimes just ID, and sometime permits for that base (like the Navy Yard, you have to have special Navy Yard stickers to drive onto base). I wonder if base security would work with the cycling community and find a way to register bikes for base access in off hours. Perhaps people could apply for a Ft. Meyer decal for their bikes that would allow a just a driver’s license and the decal to obtain access from 6pm-11pm (Wright Gate). I imagine that it is open to DOD badge holders only a this time because it takes much less time to let those people on base and doesn’t involve screening at the gate. A pre-registered bike might also mean that they don’t have to do that screening process.

Just a though on a possible question to ask them if people need access to the base.

[ifrosario]

This is not good. I use Wright gate regularly on my evening commute from work. I hope they reconsider or, at least, consider changing the time from 6:00 to 7:00 or 7:30.

[JohnL]

This will have a huge impact on my commute home. Because you can’t enter Fort Myer from the cemetery (the bike route through the cemetery is one-way eastbound), the best way to bike from the Memorial Bridge to South Arlington has been to enter through the Wright Gate and exit through the Hatfield Gate. This provides a great connection to 2nd Street South and the on-street bike routes that connect Fort Myer to the W&OD Trail. The bike route through Fort Myer is used pretty heavily by folks going between South Arlington and DC, and there is a steady stream of bike commuters at the gates in the 8-8:30 a.m. and the 6:30-7 p.m. time frames.

I suppose the only alternatives to bike from the Memorial Bridge to South Arlington would be the Route 50 trail (which is currently a mess) or the narrow Route 27 sidewalk (with it’s multiple crossings of exit ramps) to Columbia Pike. The latter appears to be only 0.4 mile longer, but it is considerably more dangerous, with several at-grade crossings where cars move at highway speeds. The Columbia Pike underpass at Washington Boulevard is also currently a mess.

Anything that can be done to either extend the Wright Gate hours to 7 p.m. or to develop a base pass for bike commuters would be greatly appreciated.

[Steve O]

Probably too late now, but it might have been nice to have some of the bike counters in place to track how many cyclists are using the base as a commuting route. If it were only 8 or 10, then Ft. Myer might have a point, but if it’s 100+, then the community would have a point. Without data, though, it’s all anecdotal. Long ago, when I used the Wright gate for a while, I think they wrote something on a clipboard, so the base might actually have some info. Probably unwilling to share, however.

[gothedistance]

I’m very annoyed by this this change even though it will only affect me on occasion since I no longer bike through Ft. Myer daily. The one-way restriction on passing through Arlington Cemetery is bad enough, and now they add insult to injury by limiting evening access to the Wright Gate. Budget constraints notwithstanding, Ft. Myer can do better than this if it wants to. If there were decent alternatives to Ft. Myer that didn’t require me to ride on dangerous roads or go way out of my way I would use them and forget about Ft. Myer with all its red tape and restrictions. As far as I’m concerned, though, neither Columbia Pike nor Arlington Blvd. currently offer a safe and convenient alternative to Ft. Myer.

Comment no. 6 (see above) about Ft. Myer issuing permits to cyclists is one potential solution. Another might be to simply make an exception to the 6 PM cutoff for cyclists. I understand comment no. 9’s logic, but I’m having the opposite reaction about the number of cyclists. If the number of cyclists passing through Wright Gate after 6 PM is so small (and it probably is) then the additional workload they would impose on the security guard(s) would be insignificant, so why not let them come through? If the number of cyclists passing through Wright Gate after 6 PM is large (and I would be very happy to hear that), then this does indeed present a workload issue for the security guard(s) but it makes a compelling argument that Ft. Myer needs to find a better solution to the problem. I’m tempted to make a Freedom of Information Act request to find out how many cyclists actually pass through the Wright Gate daily between 6 and 11 PM. I know they must have this information because the guards record my driver’s license information in a log virtually every single time I present myself at their Gates.

Ft. Myer really needs to hear from us on this.

[dasgeh]

@gothedistance 43775 wrote:

Ft. Myer really needs to hear from us on this.

I whole-heartedly agree. If anyone wants to draft a letter, and post with sending instructions, I’d print and send. I’ll post if I have time.

Also, I think we should get ArlCo involved — the point about this route being necessary while the Rte. 50 trail is under construction is important. Without that trail, there’s no reasonable alternative. One would hope ArlCo could at least make the plea that they keep the Wright Gate open later until the Rte 50 work is done.

[5555624]

They are not closing Wright Gate to cyclists at 6:00 p.m. — they are closing the gate to visitors. (If you have a DoD ID (CAC), you can still use the Wright Gate until 11:00 p.m.) They are not singling out cyclists. Whether you are on a bike or in a car, if you are a visitor, they have to record your information — that takes longer than simply waving you through, if you have a DoD ID.

A lot of military installations require ALL visitors to report to a visitor/pass office, which would make cycling through one on a commute a real pain. The problem with using a route through a military installation is that access can be limited or eliminated at any time, without notice, for drills, exercises, threat levels, emergencies, etc. (Which is one reason I’ve never cut through Fort Myer, even for around eight years when my commute took me from S 2nd St down to Columbia Pike, past the Pentagon, and up to Memorial Bridge — checking a traffic report before leaving lets me know if a street is closed, but it doesn’t tell me if a gate/base is closed.)

[acorn]

Ugh, this situation really sucks.
I agree it would be really nice for there to be an option for regular riders to get a special pass- even if they have to charge a registration fee. Arlington County, can you open up a dialogue here?

[dasgeh]

@5555624 43808 wrote:

They are not closing Wright Gate to cyclists at 6:00 p.m. — they are closing the gate to visitors. (If you have a DoD ID (CAC), you can still use the Wright Gate until 11:00 p.m.) They are not singling out cyclists. Whether you are on a bike or in a car, if you are a visitor, they have to record your information — that takes longer than simply waving you through, if you have a DoD ID.

Ugh. Visitors includes cyclists. It also includes those who commute through the base in other ways, including running. But as this is a cycling forum, cyclists was the easier description. The fact that they’re not singling out cyclists doesn’t impact any of the points that have been

You’re second statement is incorrect. The previous practice (at least as of last May) was that anyone with ANY CAC card (including non-DoD federal employees) could come onto base without signing in.

Yes, they have leeway in who they let onto a base, and different military installations have different rules. Again, this doesn’t impact any of the points made. The fact is, they are part of the Arlington community, and as part of the community, they _should_ try to be a positive part of the community. I think we should _ask_ (not file a lawsuit to force, but write a letter to ask) the base to reconsider their position. I also think the County Board should get involved, at least until the whole business with the trail along Rte 50 (the only viable alternative) is finished.

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