New Visitor Access Requirements at Ft Myer?

[Alcova cyclist]

I ride through there ten times a week with a Fed PIV. I have noticed no change under the new policy.

The only hassle I ever got was a question about whether the light mounted on my helmet was a light or a camera. Not sure why they asked, since I guarantee that every single car coming the gate has at least a cell phone camera, but I said “it’s a light” and went on my way.

[chris_s]

Arlington’s federal liaison came to Arlington’s Bicycle Advisory Commitee last night with an update – nothing is decided yet, but Arlington is trying hard and hopeful that they will succeed in getting the base to allow full-year AIEs for all cyclists, not just those with a sponsor.

[chris_s]

In the meantime, any folks here who are “Active Duty or Civilian DoD Employees” want to try sponsoring me for a 1 year AIE to see how the system works in practice right now? Looking at the application, you would need to fill in some personal information (name, rank, DoB, Driver’s License #, Organization or Unit, Government Email Address) and then certify “I certify that the applicant meets the justification requirements as indicated in JBM-HH Regulation 190-16, Access Control Policy, for access privileges. Furthermore, I certify that the applicant requires a Visitor Pass as indicated above in order to perform assigned duties, conduct official business or has a valid purpose for JBM-HH access.“

I’m presuming that “passing through on a bicycle” is considered a “valid purpose for JBM-HH access” otherwise they wouldn’t have this whole access policy system for bike & ped access”. Can anyone find a copy of “JBM-HH Regulation 190-16”?

[Guus]

Here ya go:

http://www.jbmhh.army.mil/WEB/JBMHH/JBMHH%20Regulations/FMMCReg190-16.pdf

[dasgeh]

@Guus 119727 wrote:

Here ya go:

http://www.jbmhh.army.mil/WEB/JBMHH/JBMHH%20Regulations/FMMCReg190-16.pdf

That is one poorly written regulation. and it doesn’t mention valid reasons to be on base. *sigh*

If anyone needs a “reason” to be on base, I can invite you to join us at the pool.

[chris_s]

Update: Arlington County formally requested that the base implement a temporary (approximately three year) “Trusted Cyclist” program where cyclists would be able to get a 1 Year AIE pass even unsponsored as a stop-gap until they can build better facilities in the area including the 110 Trail and Washington Blvd Trail. The base said no.

The base has expressed some willingness to cooperate with Arlington in building additional bike infrastructure to get around the base (since it is so much more difficult to get through it now) so maybe something useful will come of that. More on that in another post.

Arlington Request
Base Response

[KLizotte]

Quite frankly I think any cyclist can pass thru the base. The last time I went through was at night and the guard didn’t realize I had a federal ID and simply told me to go to the next stop for inspection. When I got to the inspection guard he saw my ID and simply waved me through. In other words, I would have been able to get thru the base without a fed ID presuming I had answered all of the questions correctly at the “inspection” point. They don’t seem to be enforcing the 3 month pass policy.

[dasgeh]

@KLizotte 125357 wrote:

Quite frankly I think any cyclist can pass thru the base. The last time I went through was at night and the guard didn’t realize I had a federal ID and simply told me to go to the next stop for inspection. When I got to the inspection guard he saw my ID and simply waved me through. In other words, I would have been able to get thru the base without a fed ID presuming I had answered all of the questions correctly at the “inspection” point. They don’t seem to be enforcing the 3 month pass policy.

That is the correct procedure for the 2nd Street Gate. Were you somewhere else?

The issue is that while anyone can enter at 2nd Street, certain people cannot enter at the other gates, meaning they can’t get from Pentagon City to Penrose/Lyon Park without biking on Columbia Pike.

[KLizotte]

@dasgeh 125396 wrote:

That is the correct procedure for the 2nd Street Gate. Were you somewhere else?

The issue is that while anyone can enter at 2nd Street, certain people cannot enter at the other gates, meaning they can’t get from Pentagon City to Penrose/Lyon Park without biking on Columbia Pike.

Yes, it was at the 2nd street gate. I had never entered from that direction before, only exited. I usually enter from the Pentagon City entrance, always with my fed ID.

[elbows]

I’m sorry if I missed discussion of this, but the requirement that cyclists must walk their bike on a sidewalk at the 2nd Street entrance seems silly. I have never seen anyone on the sidewalk other than cyclists. Why not “walk the bike if anyone is on the sidewalk”? Or why can’t I ride the loop like I used to do after the recent gate change? I have been riding through this gate for less than 1 year, and this is the 4th entry method that I have been told to follow. I do what I’m told and the guards are courteous, but the constant changes and being forced to walk my bicycle down an empty sidewalk because I’m not allowed to ride on the road are a bit grating.

[acorn]

I was also told today, at the 2nd Street entrance, to walk my bike about 30 feet over to this one spot on a sidewalk after showing my ID. And then I rode on from there. No idea why.

[dasgeh]

@acorn 125633 wrote:

I was also told today, at the 2nd Street entrance, to walk my bike about 30 feet over to this one spot on a sidewalk after showing my ID. And then I rode on from there. No idea why.

That’s ridiculous. There’s no legal requirement in Arlington to walk bikes on the sidewalk, and I believe the base is supposed to follow VA law unless they have an explicit policy otherwise. Why are you even on the sidewalk?

[Starduster]

@dasgeh 125647 wrote:

That’s ridiculous. There’s no legal requirement in Arlington to walk bikes on the sidewalk, and I believe the base is supposed to follow VA law unless they have an explicit policy otherwise. Why are you even on the sidewalk?

Sounds like a guard’s (Abuse of) Power Trip.

[scoot]

I entered the 2nd Street (Hatfield) gate at 5pm Sunday. There were no other vehicles entering the base at that time. The guards at the hut glanced at my government ID and allowed me to proceed. I then rode around the outside lane, figuring I’d just go through the inspection bay. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.

Another guard ran out to stop me there, saying that this was where the actual ID check occurs, and that I shouldn’t have stopped at the first hut at all. This guard said that the left side is for vehicles that are being stopped for inspection, while vehicles on the right side do not stop. Bizarrely, he then also insisted that bicycles were required to go through the left side with the inspected vehicles even though they would not be inspected. Pointing to the right side, he said, “Cars go really fast through here; it’s a safety thing.” As in, vehicle speeds THROUGH THE INSPECTION BAY AT A MILITARY BASE are so high that bicycles cannot safely use that lane.

So let me get this straight. Every road on the installation is low-speed enough to be bicycle-friendly, except the lane going through an inspection bay. WTF?

[elbows]

A guard told me last week that in the future instead of going through the loop, I would need to show my id at hut one and then I MUST walk my bicycle on the sidewalk.

When I rode through on Tuesday morning, the guard at hut one restated them same thing and mentioned that a lot of cyclists weren’t crazy about having to walk their bike on the sidewalk. So, I’m guessing it is a new thing. It sounded like, as others have mentioned, they were trying to avoid having cyclists intermingle with vehicles in the loop, which is crazy for the reasons mentioned.

[Author]

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