Strawberry Flag, ACLU/SC, the Annenberg Foundation and the disappearing Master Plan

Last year Lauren Bon, founder of Metabolic Studios, brought the Strawberry Flag project to the VA. Superb work, which ends in anger because the VA will not allow continuation of work. Less than a year later, the Annenberg Foundation and ACLU/SC and some veterans groups charge that the VA is in breach of the terms of the original trust. (Background story from the Santa Monica Mirror, LA Times, Citywatch) The Annenberg foundation has requested that it's name be removed from the list of sponsors affixed to the  fencing which encloses both the VA and the National Cemetery. Wow.
This is material for a book, or a film. The Veterans Park Conservancy and her Director Susan C Young (resident in Tuscon AZ and recipient of a 100.000$ p/a salary) is of special interest. The VPC has lost one (two?) board member recently, who was a direct descendant of the donor of the land. Their current project is the creation of a public park on the site of the VA where San Vincente and Wilshire meet. More importantly, the VPC has installed the elaborate fencing (image) which encloses  the VA and the National Cemetery. Is is precisely this fence which keeps cyclist from circulating freely in the area.
Is this important? Is this a case that could improve the lot of cyclists who are so badly squeezed by Wilshire and the 405? Perhaps. Proof? The Master Plan, which was live and open for public comment on the regulations.gov site, was suddenly withdrawn from that site, before the comment period was over, just around the time when Metabolic Studio made it's case with the document Preserving a Home for Veterans. "The document you are requesting has been withdrawn." Is there a fundamental re-think in the works?

Suggestion for Public Input VA Master Plan

Here is some language that may be useful when compiling public input "from the perspective of handlebar"

The VA is aware that the sheer dimensions of the site have significant circulation impacts on the surrounding communities. Brentwood and Westwood, two dense neighborhoods which are only a short distance apart, have become effectivley divided, especially for non-motorized traffic participants

Given US DOT guidance on accomodating pedestrians and bicycles (15 March 2010),
given medical focus of the site and the positive health impacts of active transportation,
given the large number of  veteran site users who do not have access to motorized transportation,
given a large population of cyclists going to and from ULCA,
given a large population of cyclists going to and from the Beach Path (Coastal Commission)
given the aim to reduce motorized trips between UCLA Medical School and the VA Hospital,
given the lack of alternative routes,
given the existing bike infrastructure (Beverly Glen,Church Lane connection)
given the desire to expand community outreach,
given to goal to reduce parking demand and offer better bike access for its employees and clients

This plan directs future development 

To design for a high degree of bikeability on the entire site
To include high class bike and pedestrian facilities in East  / West and Southern direction which will give cyclists the opportunity to reach destinations on the site and to comfortably traverse the site
To include high class bike parking facilities for all locations
To maintain gate opening hours which reflect the needs of the cycling community
To work with the National Cemetery to open its site for bicycle transit traffic
To pursue an expansion of the National Cemetery onto the VA site only if bicycle traffic is not negatively affected 

The VA also commits to establish a Bicycle Advisory Committee to improve communication with the bicycle community which is impacted by its geography

VA Master Plan: Limited Opportunities for Comment

Here is our chance to ask for the bike path through VA (and the National Cemetery), and to point out how many homeless and low income vets rely on bike access, how the 405 widening and the Wilshire corridor produce massive obstacles for cyclists, how much UCLA students and faculty do depend on such a bicycle connection, and how Brentwood and Westwood could grow together with a proper bike path. But this Masterplan uses a language which does not include the words bike or bicycle.
Written comments may be submitted through www.regulations.gov by 19 February: Now there is a sharp deadline!
One month to comment on a plan which will determine the land use at this site is very short. Two weeks into the comment period, all is quiet in Los Angeles. Very quiet.
Century City Patch reprints the announcement, Brentwood News has some good language on their site, the Federal Register has the announcement of the draft with a bit of explanation. More Google can not find. So everybody else is going to miss the deadline, especially when you want to study the Cranston Act, locate the 2001 Master Plan which was never adopted, but which is an essential background document, and study the 1998 Veteran Program Enhancement Act. One month to comment, and 14 days later all is quiet. Dear Eric.Shinseki@va.gov, dear John.Gingrich@va.gov, I think we need an extension of this deadline. Are you sure your people have contacted the usual suspects to invite them to comment? There is a lot of community around the VA, and they do want to be involved !
And by the way, can we have access to the 2001 plan? A well informed community is a good community and happy to give its considered input. But not by the 19th of February.
And while we are at it, the modality to submit comment includes the good old hand-delivery (thanks!) somewhere in DC, whereas the electronic submission at http://www.regulations.gov is entirely unclear without a more specific link. Now there is a nice opportunity for a legal challenge right there. If you want to give it a try, for best results use this: VA-2011-VACO-0001-0019. And may I also add that circulating a password protected PDF document makes it really difficult (yeah: impossible) to copy and paste for purposes of commenting - perhaps we need to work with scissor and paste here?
Grade? Well, not a good beginning!
The Master Plan pdf is password protected at the VA site. http://www.scribd.com/doc/48127448 has that inconvenience removed.

Cycling in Arlington

Here is interesting news from the East. It seems they have found an admirable solution which safeguards the very special nature of the space, and the wish of cyclists to use a safe route. Note also that Arlington is an active cemetery with many burials every day, whereas Los Angeles is closed now and only has about 15 interments a month. 
Mark Wigfield writes 
With the exception of a few days after 9/11, Arlington Cemetery and Fort Meyer have remained open to cyclists, with some limitations. Fort Meyer is the entry point to the cemetery, and is itself a route when the cemetery is closed. While the access is not perfect, the access policy has preserved a quiet, safe, clean, direct and, it should be said, beautiful and inspiring route into the city that includes daily contemplation of the meaning of the cemetery [...]. It's true that cyclists must show a driver's license before entering Fort Meyer, but this is generally a short transaction, and cyclists are not required to wait in the line of cars from the western (Hatfield) gate, but are checked separately in the curb lane.  There are some idiosyncracies: Cyclists can enter the Cemetery from Fort Meyer descending east into DC, but may not enter the Cemetery ascending west. Instead, they must go through Fort Meyer at the bottom gate (the Wright Gate), which is only a minor inconvenience. Most guards are trained in the process of clearing cyclists, but there can be some confusion in non-rush hours. Cemetery also doesn't open until 8 am, but cyclists may descend through Fort Meyer before then. The bottom gate on the east (Wright) closes at 9 pm.  [...]

It would be a great loss to cyclists -- for many reasons -- if access were closed.

Randy Swart from the Bicycle Helmet Institute adds this: 
Bicycle access to Arlington Cemetery has a long history. I am familiar with it as a user of that route since the early 1970's, and had heard stories going back further.  
Our cemetery borders Fort Myer, so they are linked for us. The cemetery sites astride the safest route to DC for central Arlington riders, and before the opening of the Custis Trail when I-66 was constructed in the 1970's it was the preferred route for many in N. Arlington as well. Although there were fewer bike commuters in those days, they were a tenacious lot. The Cemetery attempted to shut down bicycle access at one point in the 1960's and the cyclists went to Congressman Joe Fisher, then our representative and a senior member of the Military Appropriations subcommittee, for help. He made inquiries, and the route was reopened.

In the 1970's there were no restrictions on where a bicycle could go in the cemetery. We rode the main route both ways, and many used a route to the south of the main road that had gentler slopes and was somewhat shorter, but passed through throngs of tourists. [...] After repeated complaints from the tourists, the cemetery designated the main route through as the only bicycle route, closing off the other areas to bike traffic or touring. They painted a stripe on the main route and guards told bikes to follow the stripe. This change didn't affect access. I was able to lead bike club rides through other parts of the cemetery by sending a letter to the Superintendent with a map showing that we would not be using the main tourist route to the Kennedy grave or the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Superintendent would issue a permit for the ride to show to the surprised guards.

In the early 1980's the cemetery noted that bikes were breaking the speed limit downhill on the main route. Their guards hid behind trees and checked speed with radar guns. They issued the first ticket to a scruffy-looking, long-haired . . . lawyer. When they got to court he had three defenses ready, based on jurisdictions, signage, etc, but the judge threw the case out based on the first one. That was the last time I know of that they actually issued a ticket. [...]
Fort Myer has been open to bicycle use for almost all of the years that I have been using the cemetery route. After 9/11 they did close for a time, but it was based on security concerns as opposed to just bicyclephobia, and we did not protest. The cemetery route was inaccessible at that time as well, since the Ft Myer link was closed. The Fort reopened the route to bikes, checking our panniers carefully for a time. With rare exceptions it has been open, and is open now. The guards always ask for a "government ID" and are satisfied with a Virginia drivers license. They generally record the entry in a book. There is no check when you exit. [...] I have made it a point to let the base commanders know that we are grateful for the access and that it solves a safety problem for us.

At present, March 2010, the Ft. Myer route is open to bicycles in both directions 7 days a week. I think there is a 10pm night limit. But the cemetery can only be used in the downhill direction going in to DC. Ft. Myer does not post guards at the cemetery gate at the top (Chapel gate) except during funerals, and are unwilling to accept screening by the cemetery guards down below. 


(photo courtesy thewashcycle.com)

Rude Cyclists ?

Comments on the SMDP site, with comments in bold in brackets 

As rude as most bicyclists are, I sure don't want them going through our national cemeteries. (What is so rude about cyclists? There are the most well educated and respectful cyclists you can get anywhere in the world. Rudeness does not apply.)
The roads are already narrow, now will have to put bike lanes. (Certainly not necessary)
Next they will be walking their dogs and tossing Frisbees on the gravesites of Veterans.  (Certainly not)
KEEP THEM OUT OF OUR NATIONAL CEMETERIES, THEY ARE NATIONAL SHRINES. (A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. (Wikipedeia)  Would Veteranism then be a new religion? A state religion? How would that work with the First Amendment ? What is so disrespectful about cycling? )
Navy Veteran, Los Angeles
March 02, 2010 | 08:40 AM 

Eisnberg would do well to remeber the hallowed ground he seeks to roll upon was paid for in the blood and very lives of those who put their lives in peril long before Mr Eisenberg ever dreamed of asserting his right to pass. (Why do you think riding a car through the cemetery is acceptable, but cycling should be prohibited? What is gained by putting the lives of cyclists in peril on Wilshire? Respectful and well educated cyclists, not dog walkers or frisbee players, mind you)
stewart resmer veteran, SM 

March 01, 2010 | 11:46 PM

 No Disrespect to the Veterans, and no disrespect to cyclists either. Cyclists have been overlooked too often, and need all the help they can get. Of course, the cemetery  is not an ideal solution, but remember that many years of bicycle transit traffic before 9/11 have not had any adverse effect. "With respect I pass this way"  Sharing is winning.

Cyclists don’t belong in a cemetery
Editor:
I can't believe reading that bike riders think they have entitlement to ride through the Los Angeles National Cemetery ("Cyclists fighting for access to cemetery," March 2). What gall. I am a veteran and my grandfather, brother, mother and stepfather are buried in the cemetery. I think this is an affront to all the men and women who were in the service and fought for our country. My stepfather fought in World War II and my grandfather fought in the Civil War and Spanish American War. I am sure they would turn over in their graves if they knew this was allowed. Too bad that they have to bike longer. I live in Culver City and I never see anyone riding their bikes through Holy Cross. My message to these bike riders is find another route other than the cemetery. Rep. Henry Waxman doesn't dare get involved. There are too many veterans who live in his district and he wouldn't want to take the chance of their ire. 
Jacqueline Kestler, Culver City, March 02, 2010

Dear Jacqueline: I am sorry you think this gall. Why is cycling an affront to the memory of those brave people?  What makes cycling so inherently rude and disrespectful? Since when? Why is the bicycle an affront when we think it perfectly normal to drive cars through the cemetery? Please help me to understand that.
The good news it that for many years cycling was permitted through the Cemetery, and you will be able to verify if any "turning in their graves" occurred back then. Did you know that bicycles were a important part of army gear in the olden days? 
Your suggestion to find another route has been tested for a long time, and the result is that everybody drives a car. Between Brentwood and Westwood, there just is no other convenient route, and speeding cars make it very dangerous for cyclists. Do you think your relatives interred there are really happy about all that car driving on Wilshire and on the 405, with all the noise and exhausts fumes this produces? We need to get more people on bikes, and make it easier to walk for pedestrians, and this route would be perfect. Of course we want to do it in a manner that does not detract from this very special space.


Cyclists show no disrespect

Editor:

How sad and potentially tragic (given traffic along Wilshire and Sunset boulevards) that bicyclists looking for a safe way to commute between Santa Monica and Westwood/UCLA have to confront hostility from the Veterans Administration ("Cyclists fighting for access to cemetery," March 2). How can it be disrespectful for bicyclists to use the cemetery as a safe route from Sepulveda Boulevard to Veteran Avenue when noisy and polluting cars constantly use the cemetery roads? And did you know that a number of years ago the VA put a gate in the fence along Veteran for the use of bicyclists (and walkers)?  Maybe it would be different if taxes paid by us bicyclists were to be used to support the VA. Oh wait a minute, they already do.
Paul Bergman Santa Monica, March 03, 2010

From Brentwood to Westwood and Back

  Wednesday 17 February 2010 we met with Lisa Pinto, District Deputy for Congressman Henry Waxman. 

Here is the text of the invitation: 

Dear Lisa,

We understand that Rep Henry Waxman will be at UCLA for the Bollens-Ries-Hoffenberg lecture on Wed 17 Feb 2010. The student group Bicycle Coalition at UCLA and the UCLA Bicycle Academy would like to invite Mr Waxman for a short meeting on that day about impaired bicycle circulation through the grounds of the National Cemetery directly adjacent to UCLA. Untill 2001, the cemetery offered a safe and convenient access route for bicycle commuters. Its closure on a pretense of national security has had grievous impacts for commuting cyclists who have no safe route between Brentwood and Westwood. Alternative routes are unsafe and deter many cyclists. In order to foster sustainable transportation options around UCLA, the re-opening of the National Cemetery is urgently required.

The National Cemetery, based on a mistaken understanding of bicycling as "recreation", has closed the cemetery for bicycle traffic since 9/11/2001. We ask the Representative to intervene with the Department for Veterans Affairs in order to lift this inequitable closure and revert to the previous status for the benefit of cycling UCLA commuters and the public in general. The imminent widening of the I-405 gives additional urgency to re-instating the previous condition.

We hope representatives of UCLA Transportation, UCLA Sustainability, the Chancellor's office and Councilmember Rosendahl's transportation deputy and two cycling UCLA Nobel prize winners will be able to attend the meeting.