May 29, 2009
Q: I was exiting Womble Gate at approximately 5:10 p.m. recently. My intention was to stay in the left lane and take a left out the gate towards Mikasa Park as I do daily to go home. As I neared the gate I was directed by the security guard to get into the right lane past the guard shacks. I tried to gesture to the guard with my turn signal and by hand my desire to turn left out the gate, but was continually directed to get into the right lane. After I passed the guard shacks and stopped prior to entering the street I again signaled my desire to turn left, the guard directing traffic gestured for me to go straight towards route 16. I rolled down my window and told him I wanted to go left, his reply was that I could only go straight. I asked “why was I forced to go in this lane if I needed to go left?” his reply was “I didn’t make you go in this lane” eventually I had to go straight onto route 16 after passing through an additional six stoplights I was able to finally get back on to the road I needed. If I was in the lane I needed to be in, why did the guard disregard my desire to stay there and force me into a lane that wouldn’t allow me to turn left out the gate? I understand the intention to control and ease traffic flow at that time of day, but they should at least allow the motorist to signal their direction intention when exiting the base. Because of my forced deviation, even for the short distance I needed to go to get back on track, it added an additional 15-20 minutes onto my commute home.

A: Thank you for your comments. Due to equipment maintenance/repair at Womble gate and the heavy flow of traffic exiting the base at that time, we must direct traffic flow to ensure safety of all pedestrians and vehicles. The guard prior to the gate had you switch lanes and then not allow you to turn left from the lane you were in as it would create a safety issue and impede traffic flow to a near stop. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.