New Visitor Access Requirements at Ft Myer?

[Starduster]

Thank you. But what about the section between S Courthouse and the Washington Blvd bridge?

[Raymo853]

@PotomacCyclist 109743 wrote:

The Navy Annex has been demolished and cleared, so I don’t know why someone can’t put down a temporary or permanent trail there this year. According to the Navy Annex project site, all clean-up work is done and the land has been turned over to Arlington National Cemetery (from the Dept. of the Army). ARL will have to reach an agreement on a land swap. If the larger land deal continues to be delayed, why not reach a smaller deal on a Columbia Pike trail?

The current sidewalk is sub-par, but it’s usable for slower-speed travel. However, there isn’t really room to pass oncoming bike or pedestrian traffic unless you slow down to walking speed.

I do not see that section along Columbia Pike by the old Navy Annex site as a problem, since there is an easy way around it. I do not go that way but use Orme St and Southgate. The real problem is getting from Columbia Pike & Southgate to Columbia Pike & Orme. There are no alternatives as all the sides roads and parks are not connected. And of course the underpass South Washington Rt 27 is a major choke point.

Here is my suggestion. Get some sort of pedestrian & bicycle bridge or tunnel just north of the underpass. Then get easements and build a multi-use path on the lands by Navy Support Facility and Towers Park and the adjacent townhouse.

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[dasgeh]

Fort Myer Access and budget recommendations are both on the agenda for tonight’s Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee (7pm, 2100 Clarendon Blvd, 3rd floor). As has been discussed on this forum and elsewhere, I expect the conversation to touch on topics like accelerating the construction of the Hoffman-Boston connector (between S Queen St and Army-Navy Drive), considering cyclists in the negotiations over Southgate Road, reconsidering the relatively paltry plans for a MUP under 27 along Columbia Pike, and accommodations for cyclists along Columbia Pike during construction.

All are welcome.

[chris_s]

@Starduster 109746 wrote:

Thank you. But what about the section between S Courthouse and the Washington Blvd bridge?

The north-side sidepath/trail/whatever is supposed to reach all the way from the far east end of the Pike (Joyce) to Courthouse Road. I’ve pushed hard and may have succeeded in getting it extended two blocks farther, to Wayne, but I worry that this will end up getting undone at some point during final engineering. Those two blocks are important because the 9th St Bike Blvd dead ends at Wayne.

[Raymo853]

@dasgeh 109797 wrote:

accelerating the construction of the Hoffman-Boston connector (between S Queen St and Army-Navy Drive),

I may be confused on where this is, but are you talking about S Queen street off of 23rd Street S near Fraser Park? Those two are so close to each other and connected by a road with a bike route on it already.

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[dasgeh]

@Raymo853 109802 wrote:

I may be confused on where this is, but are you talking about S Queen street off of 23rd Street S near Fraser Park? Those two are so close to each other and connected by a road with a bike route on it already.

Nope, by Hoffman-Boston Elementary School, through the golf course, under 395 using the tunnel that’s already there, then to Army-Navy Drive. It’s relevant to the Fort Myer discussion because it gets you from Pentagon City to basically the Drafthouse while avoiding the Pike. It’s a detour for many, so it’s not a silver bullet.

[chris_s]

@Raymo853 109802 wrote:

I may be confused on where this is, but are you talking about S Queen street off of 23rd Street S near Fraser Park? Those two are so close to each other and connected by a road with a bike route on it already.

Like-a-so:

[dbb]

I just got an answer to my question

“Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2015 6:15 PM
To: USARMY JBM-HH ASA Mailbox DES Access Q A
Subject: Access to Fort Myer under new proceedures

I am a Federal employee with a valid HSPD-12 compliant identification (CAC).
Earlier versions of the access policy indicated such credentials would be
accepted but the more recent guidance appears silent on that issue.

Will HSPD-12 compliant credentials issued by a Federal agency be accepted or
will Fort Myer conduct an independent records check?

Thanks”

HSPD 12 stands for Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, the policy that got many of us new ID cards.

And their answer was:

Sir/Ma’am,

If you have a compliant HSPD-12 credential JBM-HH will accept this for entry
into the installation.

V/R

JBM-HH Directorate of Emergency Services
Access Control Section

That is consistent with my experience last Friday, however I was asked to remove my ID from the holder. That new feature was a bit more difficult wearing gloves.

[KLizotte]

I just googled what a CAC card looks like to see if I have one. Nope, got a PIV. Sigh.

Can anyone explain to me why the CAC shows your pay grade?!​ Seriously?! How is that related to security? Lordy.

[AFHokie]

Rank is tied to pay grades…an E-7, E-9, O-3, O-6, etc are different ranks across service branches, but they all rate the same customs and courtesies for the pay grade

[dbb]

You likely have one. DOD refers to the HSPD 12 credential as a CAC for unknown reasons. They were produced under HSPD 12 and I think every federal agency was required to do them. None of the ones at HUD have pay grade.

Check FAA Order 1600.78

[AFHokie]

I think DoD planned to switch to them before 9/11 and called them Common Access Cards (CAC). IIRC, they started issuing them early in 2002. I don’t know if any other federal agencies had them in their plans before the DoD.

[mstone]

@dbb 110064 wrote:

You likely have one. DOD refers to the HSPD 12 credential as a CAC for unknown reasons. They were produced under HSPD 12 and I think every federal agency was required to do them. None of the ones at HUD have pay grade.

The CAC program predates HSPD-12, and inspired the decision to implement similar capabilities across the entire federal government. HSPD-12 did impose some additional requirements, CAC was updated in response, and CACv2 is now also a PIV.

@KLizotte 110060 wrote:

Can anyone explain to me why the CAC shows your pay grade?!​ Seriously?! How is that related to security? Lordy.

IIRC, it’s part of the geneva convention requirements for identification of combatants. I think it only shows up on active-duty CACs.

[Steve O]

Although it’s probably a lost cause, I think Arlington and advocacy groups, etc. should continue to work on ways to allow for people who do not have federal ID cards to be able to pass through.

A small idea that I like, and that we can adopt for this as well as other efforts:

Instead of “cyclists,” which is probably the equivalent of “sasquatches” to the powers that be, we should use “citizens riding bikes.” This is a variation on “people riding bikes” used in Seattle to help build support for more and better infrastructure. The military is used to thinking of its mission as protecting citizens, so using that term may help them mentally connect with the population they are inconveniencing.

Just a thought.

[chris_s]

To be clear, citizens without ID cards CAN still pass through, they “just” have to go through an annoyingly onerous process every 60 days. *sigh*

Still working on it, hoping for better, but honestly focusing on pushing Arlington to give us better alternatives because I think no matter whether we win this fight or not, we will lose the war. Some day JBMHH is going to close to “through traffic” once and for all.

[Author]

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