Presidio of Monterey to allow through traffic for evacuation drill this weekend.

Rev your engine and cruise right through a restricted military installation.

The Presidio of Monterey is opening its gates to through traffic from 9am to 11am on Saturday, April 13 for a one-time-only test of a proposed evacuation route.

Vehicles normally must circumvent the Army garrison to travel from one part of Monterey to other but in the case of an emergency, the available route may be too limited, possibly clogging the flow during an evacuation. Lighthouse Avenue near the tunnel is a regular traffic chokepoint, even in non-emergency conditions.  

“This exercise is part of a comprehensive proactive approach to identify areas for improvement on the best options for people to evacuate the area in case of an emergency such as a fire or flood,” Monterey Fire Chief Gaudenz Panholzer said in a statement.

Anyone interested in participating in the disaster simulation exercise should enter the Presidio at the Pine Street gate in New Monterey, follow Stillwell Avenue through, and exit the military base at the High Street gate to reach downtown Monterey. (Traffic will only be allowed in this direction, so don’t try to enter from the High Street gate.)

Emergency responders conceived of the drill after a public safety summit in January 2019. The region and its various jurisdictions collaborate on emergencies issues through the Peninsula Evacuation Plan, which was devised in 2006.

Situated on a hillside overlooking the Monterey Bay, the Presidio is designated as a U.S. Army installation with the official motto of "We Are the Army's Home - Serving the Rugged Professional.” In practical terms, those “rugged professionals” are the students and faculty of the Defense Language Institute. Long before serving as the language school for the Department of Defense, the Presidio hosted a musketry school and also culinary school. Going further back in time, the Presidio was originally a fort of the Spanish Empire.