JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
Driviers encouraged to use other gates
A traffic count study of gates on Military Drive here during weekday peak morning entry times confirms what the 802nd Security Forces Squadron could already see: Luke East is the busiest.
The study by the 802nd SFS' Installation Security Office shows the traffic count during the 6-9 a.m. Monday-through-Friday time frame at Luke East is nearly the same as the other three gates combined on Military Drive that are also open then.
More than 12,000 vehicles enter JBSA-Lackland through Luke East during the Monday-through-Friday peak morning rush while in the same time frame a combined 13,900 vehicles use the Selfridge East, Luke West and Selfridge West gates.
The vehicle count was conducted in May to factor in school traffic. Other JBSA-Lackland entry points - the Valley Hi, Growden Road and Security Hill gates - were not included in the study.
"Last year we opened additional gates on Military Drive (Luke West and Selfridge West) specifically to help relieve traffic congestion at Luke East," said Capt. Joshua Hight, 802nd SFS operations officer.
"We publicized to the base populous that the additional gates were open in order to relieve congested traffic," he said. "The study indicates those additional gates are not being used in the morning like they could be."
Hight said if more drivers used the other gates on Military Drive during the morning rush hours it would be a way to alleviate the heavy congestion at the Luke East gate.