ABC-7 Viewer Concerned Over Gate Change At Fort Bliss

By ABC-7 Reporter Daniel Marin

Fort Bliss, Texas- There are many locks on many gates at Fort Bliss. But the future of one in particular left an ABC-7 viewer a little concerned.

Located behind Ross Middle School, Gate 24 is a small, unmanned swinging chain-link gate. Many parents who live in a nearby cluster of on-post housing, drive their children to the gate for school everyday while other students walk there. A guard lets them in and that’s that.

But soon, Gate 24 will stay locked up permanently. That means the children who walk to get to school will have to take an alternate route, one that takes them onto a street with no sidewalks.

Fort Bliss Garrison Commander Ed Manning admits that’s notan ideal situation.

“The kids that walk,” he told ABC-7, “Yeah, we’re gonna have to look at it with the parents and the school.

Manning says the gate will no longer be an option because Fort Bliss will soon build 286 more homes in the area to help ease the housing shortage on post.

In the meantime, the El Paso Independent School District says they’ll be informing parents about the gate closure and working with Fort Bliss to come up with a safe way for the children to get to school.

Construction on the homes begins February 1st.