In 2017 Ryman Properties, the operator of the Marriott Gaylord National Hotel constructed a beautiful Riverfront Ballroom on the Potomac River.

However, due to fire lane restrictions they were unable to connect the hotel with the ballroom with a fixed structure. As a result the guests going to and from the ballroom were exposed to inclement weather conditions. In addition, the back of house staff had to deal with the same conditions for catering.

The Marriott Gaylord National Hotel chose Commute-A-Walk® as the portable pedestrian system to solve their problem. Working with their architects, we developed a five section walkway system that inter-connects the hotel and the kitchen to the ballroom with a section to accommodate ADA and physically impaired guests. When the walkway is not needed it is transported to a storage area via custom trailers provided by East Island Aviation.

In 2018 East Island Aviation installed the second phase of portable walkways sections and fixed canopies to create this unique solution. And even though the canopies that connect the walkways are static most of the time, we have designed them to also be removable id required.

For more information on pedestrian enclosures, retractable walkways and other crowd-control devices contact Jim Larson at jlarson@eiaviation.com.