Quote:
Originally Posted by Altavia
I have to agree, hard to understand what they were thinking with the design of that gates.
They also appear to have discontinued having sidewalks to connect pedestrians to the MMP's. You have to walk in the street near several gates in the new areas to get to a MMP.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby
I'm not familiar with the part of the Villages you're all talking about, so please help me understand:
Are the walking/biking paths serving the same function as the MMPs, for pedestrians and bicycle riders? In other words - can you get to the walking path from the same spot as you can get to the MMP, and will that walking path then lead the walker to the same destination(s) as the MMP?
I often walk to the postal station, and ride my bicycle all over the east side of the Villages. We have a very small MMP running from the golf cart bridge, right through Paradise Park, and out to the public side road that leads to a few doctors' offices and one of the Villages gates. Other than that, we have no MMPs at all. We do have walking trails, but I'd have to walk from my house, around a mile down the road, to get to it. If I'm walking to Walmart, that's WAY out of my way, and it won't connect me with Walmart at all.
If the situation with your side of the Villages means the walking paths are just for exercise/getting fresh air within a confined location - and the MMPs are the connections from one village to another, or from a village area to a commercial area, or connecting two commercial areas - then no. You can't just use the walking path instead of the MMP. The MMP exists to accommodate walkers, bicycle riders, and golf carts. The walking/bike paths would be more for recreation, rather than transportation.
On my side of the Villages, we just do everything on the streets - we don't even have sidewalks other than the short stretch from the Fire department to the Rec center driveway.
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Between 466 and 44 there are many more MMPs. These are paved paths that run alongside many of the higher-speed roads particularly 466, 466A, Buena Vista, and Morse. The MMPs provide separation between automotive traffic and golf carts, bicycles, and pedestrians.
South of 44, many of the paved paths have been restricted to bicycles and pedestrians only with the golf carts put into the separate lanes on the side of the roads (think Morse above 466).
While walking paths north of 44 are relatively short paths for experiencing nature, south of 44 there are many miles of walking/biking paths. In some areas south of 44, the paved paths that run parallel to the road look exactly like the MMPs north of 44 except they are actually restricted walking/biking paths.
To the point of this thread, the MMP that passes Sawgrass going south becomes a restricted walking/biking path immediately after the Citrus Grove gate. The path continues south and looks exactly the same but north of the gate it is a traditional MMP while south of the gate it is restricted. It is at this point that southbound carts need to cross Meggison to continue on the roadway.