New Rules - Camp Pendleton Entrance & Parking

[Margareth Demery]

New rules are in place for riding through Camp Pendleton as per last Saturday's ride.

1.  Visitor Parking allowed for only 5 hrs, but if the current officer leaves his post for the day before the five hours, your car will be tagged and towed.
2.  You are only allowed 4 times in 45 days to ride through the base unless you have a military friend then 4 times in 90 days.
3.  They are scanning your ID and it will know how many times you passed through the base. (several riders were turned back last week and were not allowed access to the base)


The only way around this is for me to go to MCCS (Marine Corps Community Service) and get a special certificate that will allow North County Cycle Club members unlimited access (as per the gate attendant).  Have a contact person on base that I am waiting a call back from and will be scheduling a meeting with the Community Service associate sometime next week depending on their schedule.  Will update you all what transpires from this meeting.

If any of you riders have updates that we don't know about please share. Let me know and I can convey any questions or concerns during the meeting.

Thanks,
~Peg

[Anthony Scozzari]

Hi Peg,
Well that sure is a bummer.  I have a couple of clarifying questions.  If you ride north through Pendleton to San Clemente and then come back south on the same day does that count as 1 time or 2 times through the base?

In your #2  - you wrote being able to go through the base with a military friend less time than without one 4x - 90 days with military vs 4x - 45 days without military, is that correct?

Thanks,
Anthony

[Judy Frankel]

I think they had it wrong and in any case if access was  denied Caltrans would have to allow alternate access on the I5 Freeway.  They can't deny passage on the only route north/south.    The person  you spoke to may have misunderstood that this doesn't apply to cyclists.  Below is a conversation someone else had with base ops.

Richard,

I contacted base ops who said there has been no change or plans to change access.  Cyclists with proper ID, helmets, etc. are exempt from the 3 visits per 45 days rule.  You can contact base ops at 760-763-1222.

Current visitor policy (this is probably what NCCC was referring to):

http://www.pendleton.marines.mil/About/BaseInformation/BaseAccess.aspx

That said, if cyclists continue to crash on descents at high speed, that may change.  Please use caution and good sense.

Mark

[karlos]

This thread has been making the rounds. Here is a response to Richard Duquette from a Marine on base:

3-20-2015
Very helpful Tu.
I knew you'd know more.
The auto - bicycle distinction is important.
If you have a suggestion who to specifically contact at base ops to discuss this,I'd appreciate a name.If you feel comfortable sending me a private e mail,that's understandable.
Thanks again Tu !

Richard L. Duquette
Attorney at Law

On Mar 20, 2015, at 8:00 AM, Tu Tran voidxmain@yahoo.com [tcsd] <tcsd-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Thank you, Richard and Mark.

I wanted to offer a response to hopefully clear up some confusion and shed some light. I will preface this by saying my response comes from by virtue of being a Marine aboard the base, who works with Base Operations (Base Ops) and as well as me being a cyclist and triathlete.

The base guidelines are for those visitors (read: non-Federal/Department of Defense) who are in vehicles, this regulation has not pertained to cyclists nor has anyone from the base passed otherwise.

Reading the NCCC thread, I can only speculate what happened in that regards why it “appeared” selective in enforcement in that some cyclists were turned back. It’s my educated guess one of the following happened. When an ID is scanned, the history of that ID comes up: is it suspended/revoked/expired or does the individual have a de-barrment order prohibiting them from riding/being aboard the base from a previous incident? This could have been a reason if it was scanned and the individuals in question may have been embarrassed to admit that.

Also, it is at the discretion of the sentry to enforce anything he perceives to be a violation or potential issue. I’ll admit, that is a catch-all but it’s there for a reason to give the sentry the authority to make decisions when higher-level supervision isn’t immediately available.

And lastly to address the safety and behavior, this is becoming a huge issue. For example the base has cyclists trying to bring up lawsuits against the base for crashing due to the road quality. We have, I want to say an Orange County based cycling club/coalition, complain and bring up issue that base cycling access was closed down for Oceanside 70.3 last year. The more "scope creep" the base has to take on due to a privilege, the less inclined it may have it around (that last part is just my two cents and anyone with a military background can understand this).

But let me re-iterate and sum up. That policy is for visitors in vehicles, not cyclists. If cyclists are obeying the rules they’ll be allowed to ride. Again, can’t answer the exact circumstance of why some were turned back and why others weren’t, but I will advise and say ALWAYS be on your best behavior with the sentry. Don’t have an attitude or perceived attitude (friendly advice).

Let me know if you have any more questions.
-Tu

[Judy Frankel]

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=shc... "
888. The department shall not construct a state highway as a
freeway that will result in the severance or destruction of an
existing major route for nonmotorized transportation traffic and
light motorcycles, unless it provides a reasonable, safe, and
convenient alternate route or such a route exists."
CA Codes (shc:887-888.
LEGINFO.CA.GOV


Per Seth Cutter (Caltrans Bike/Ped Coordinator)  the shoulders of I-5 are only being closed at night.  (for construction)

If the shoulders are closed, then a shuttle will be available to carry cyclists between Oceanside Harbor, Las Pulgas Rd. and Basilone Rd.

[karlos]

Your San Diego County Bicycle Coalition has been all over this behind the scenes. I think we finally got a definitive reading from Jim Baross, SDCBC Spokesperson and President of CABO (California Association of Bicycle Organizations). Peg's group seemed to have encountered a sentry who was being overly conservative that day and certainly misstated base policy. Should this happen again, you may wish to note the name of the sentry. And remember the advice on a previous post: be on your BEST behavior when interacting with the sentries at the gates on base.
Karl

from Jim Baross:

I got a call back this morning, March 23rd, after my inquiries of last week; my at least 8 phone calls and various referrals...

Bike riders are exempt from the "345 rule" - while IDs may be scanned and bike helmets are required, there is no limit imposed on the frequency a person bicycling may enter and ride through the camp.

Reference and contact if issues arise:
Sylvia O'Brian, 760-763-7601

Ride right and on.

Jim Baross
CABO President
REA President
EC/LCI/CSI
San Diego, CA