The Feds set highway design standards in the MUTCD ... manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Florida has adopted the national standard.
In 2003, I see a letter from Tampa area inquiring if gates into residential areas are considered traffic control. The fed response at that time was the only gates they addressed were rail crossings and bridges but that they would consider residential gates in future editions of the standard. It looks like the 2009 update to the MUTCD chapter 2B.68 -page 102 in the link below now includes these residential gates as traffic control devices and thus requires them to have vertical red and white striping and extend the full width.
That's the offiicial source, as best I can tell. Does it make sense in our world??? Probably not... Yes it may increase safety but that will be offset by increased delays in getting through the gates and general aggravation on the part of bikers and golf cart operators.
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009/part2b.pdf
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Maryland (DC Suburbs) - first 51 years
The Villages - next 51 years
