Oak Forest Drive
 

Has anyone seen the new signs on Oak Forest Drive ?
" NO THRU TRAFFIC " and then goes on to state the fine if caught. I think it was
$123.50 These signs are posted at both ends of the street. I don't know what a
U-turn costs.... but I figured it was cheaper and made one. Signs also state 3 points on your license.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Where is Oak Forest Drive?

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Does this include by golf cart?

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Golf carts are expected to obey the same traffic rules as autos. The problems on Oak Forest have been determined to be caused by "shortcut" drivers, and that surely includes golf carts. The remedy is for cars to use Buena Vista Blvd and golf carts to use the golf cart path along Buena Vista Blvd to get North and South.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Dayton - I don't know. I was in my golf cart when I made the U-turn.
I was just thinking. Gas has not hit much more than $4.00 gal.
We can all go the long way. Somebody that lives on that street must
have some real power or know someone who does. Does the district or
Sumter Co. own that street? I believe that it is Sumter Co. You know...
the people I pay TAXES too.


Cliff - Who gets to use Oak Forest Drive? Only the people who live there?
Not the people who pay for it? If that's the case, I want to talk to someone about the street I live on. I live on Azteca Loop and Sumter Co. does not own it. We have been known to get a cart or 2 go down our street.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Bombero, you sure do get a lot of cart traffic in your neighborhood. And, if I'm not mistaken, the residents got fed up with the constant speeders and had speed bumps installed about every 50 feet through your neighborhood. Your fellow homeowners in your CDD paid for it along with you. We have not resorted to speed bumps on Oak Forest yet but that is one of the things being considered in order to cut down the traffic and slow down the speeders. Do you deny us the opportunity to accomplish what you accomplished in your neighborhood?

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Please forgive me for asking again...

but...

where is Oak Forest Drive?

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Ok..this is a letter sent to The Sun about this. I don't think it has been published yet.

Today I noticed that signs have been posted on parts of Oak Forest Road in The Villages. The signs are marked NO THRU TRAFFIC and cite as authority Florida Statute 316.074 As a local resident I am well aware of the purpose of these Traffic Control Devices. While I am somewhat sympathetic to their intent, they are clearly illegal and should be removed.

Attorney General Crist issued Advisory Legal opinion AGO 2004-013 on March 24,2004.. This opinion was issued in response to the city of Coral Gables attempting to limit traffic on public roads to residents and invitees of people living on those roads. For the sake of brevity I will only include the final parts of his opinion which is crystal clear. The entire opinion is available at http://myfloridalegal.com/ago.nsf/Op...256E620055999C). for those who wish to read the full opinion. However, the final three paragraphs should be enough for anyone who understands the English Language.

The Florida Department of Transportation has adopted the Federal Highway Safety Administration Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices[5] for use in this state. No provision of the manual and specifications adopted by the Department of Transportation or elsewhere in Chapter 316, Florida Statutes, authorizes the use or erection of a sign stating 'No Thru Street.'[6] Thus, a municipality has no authority to erect or enforce such a sign pursuant to Chapter 316, Florida Statutes.

The roads upon which the City of Cape Coral has erected signs are municipal roadways on which the public has a right to travel. This is not a situation involving private roads over which the municipality has been requested to exercise traffic control and must enter into an agreement with the private owners to exercise such control.[7]

While the municipality is authorized to provide regulatory or warning signage on municipal roadways to alert motorists to such things as posted speed limits or 'watch for children', nothing in Chapter 316, Florida Statutes, or elsewhere authorizes the city to limit the right of the public to use such roadways for the exclusive benefit of the home owners in the area and their invitees.

I believe the proper and legal way to restrict traffic would be to make Oak Forest a one way street. The desire to use this street would also be reduced if the cart paths along Buena Vista Blvd were black topped and upgraded

It is very disheartening to see local authorities either ignorant on indifferent to the law. No doubt the Sumter County Sheriff will view this as another source of revenue and assign personnel to cite violators. This situation should be eliminated before innocent people are persecuted.

Sincerely

James E Mc Cauley
3548 Whiting Way
The Villages, Florida 32162

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Cliff - Just wanted to say that there is a difference between a Sumter Co. road and a
CDD road.
We have not accomplished much in our neighborhood. We still have the speeders
and the Stop Sign runners. Most people people do as they please. I think both
streets need better enforcement of the laws, NOT new laws. Sumter Co. could
do a better job. I would think it is easier to catch someone speeding than stopping
everyone and checking to see where they live. Don't forget to give your company
that stops by, a note to get out of the area. LOL

Good luck and I hope it works. I'll go around....but I'm not in a hurry. I even stop at
Stop Signs. All of them!

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

What idiot(s) authorized that sign? This is too much for "Leisureville" to handle.

Skip

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

My Federal Highway engineer buddy is skeptical that this is a legal sign. The cited Florida Statute says nothing more than motorists must obey posted traffic control devices. Mr Engr says that for such a sign to be legal, the road owners (aka Sumter County) must pass a specific commission order for this sign/restrictions/penalty.

Just looked at Sumter County Commission website...in their June 24th meeting, they arrived at a consensus that the sign was the way to go, but, deferred final decision/vote until their July 8th meeting. No minutes for the July 8th meeting have been posted. If they did approve this on July 8th, they sure wasted no time posting the signs. Where was the public notification, marketing plan, etc?

I understand the issue on Oak Forest, in principle, but I'm not convinced this was the best solution. So many loopholes and innocent folks who could be punished unwittingly.

I imagine this will spur much more debate....

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

It would seem to me that under the present"regulations"in effect on a public street maintained with tax dollars that if you live on that street and enter on the south end to access your home you must by"law"go back out the way you came in as no Thru Traffic is allowed.Wow that will be a big selling point.There is an old saying,watch out what you ask for ect,ect,ect.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

There is a golf cart path that leads to Glenview Country Club via Riverdale Rd which is off Oak Forest Drive that everyone I know uses. Besides that one of our favorite pasttimes is to drive around in our cart to different areas of The Villages to view landscaping and just to plain ride. I can't imagine any area being off limits if people are obeying the traffic speed limits. If the problem is speeders than enforce that law because it appears that is the only law you can enforce.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Bombero, you have my sympathies for living on Azteca. I plead guilty to being one of those who uses your street as a shortcut. I do stop at every stop sign, drive slowly and try to be respectful. Heck, I'm even weird enough to stop and let you out of your driveway rather than making you wait for me. Seems only fair since I know I'm encroaching.

Ditto Oak Forest. I use it, too. The signs aren't going to stop me. These are public streets maintained by public funds (property taxes, gasoline taxes, etc.). You can't restrict the public from using public streets. If I'm speeding, give me a ticket, I won't fight it because I don't live on it? I'll fight that puppy all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if I have to and I'll win.

I don't take the shortcuts to save time as much as I take them because the golf cart paths are so dang bumpy -- especially on El Camino and north of Polo Ridge. They're just not all that comfortable to me, whether I'm on my scooter or someone's golf cart. As I said, I do try to be respectful of the residents of those streets that I know are getting more than their fair share of traffic because it is a short cut. It would be nice if others would try to drive on these streets quietly, slowly, safely and sanely.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Brightspot, Oak Forest Drive is North of 466 and runs parallel to Buena Vista Blvd. It starts at Southern Trace heading North, crosses Talley Ridge Dr. and continues another half mile or so. The section North of Talley Ridge doesn't lead any where except for the golf cart entrance to Glenview Country Club via Oak Forest Dr. to Riverdale.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Thank you Happy Villager. I was just about to ask again -- for Brightspot! LOL ;D

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Thank you Happy Villager.

1187 to go!

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

I think I have the roads straight. Oak Forest Drive parallels Buena Vista Drive north of 455. If you take the turn into Polo Ridge it is the next street and runs up towards Glenview. Now that they put the traffic light in at Southern Trace and Buena Vista it is faster to go into the Glenbrook entrance and scoot down Oak Forest Drive to Southern Trace and take a right to go to the shopping center.

I usually take Oak Forest from the Hawkes Bay golf course to Talley Ho to get on the recreation trail to go to Springdale. The drive is less bumpy.

Seems hard to see how they are going to control the no thru traffic. I am not sure where the signs are but unless it qualifies the entire stretch of Oak Forest those living on the north side of Talley Ho would be in violation if they took Oak Forest down to Southern Trace.

In fact, maybe we should do the same thing on Belle Meade Circle from Springdale to Quail Ridge. People not from our area use Belle Meade Circle to get to the Mulberry Grove shopping center. They should have to go up Buena Vista to Mulberry and across.

There are many short cuts that could be blocked to thru traffic. I wonder why Oak Forest got the nod.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

People should teleport over the entrance to Bridgeport, too. ;D I'm sure we all have places that we feel are over traveled and dangerous.
The speed limits seem capricious throughout TV. In Bridgeport it is 15 MPH. In other villages it is 25 MPH. What's up with that????

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Thank you Happy Villager...I appreciate your response because I had no idea where it was.

Bombero is another story...instead of giving me an answer he made sarcastic remarks...and I don't understand why.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Does everybody realise how stupid this sign is? Can you imagine, telling motorists that they can't drive...."on that one street." what does "Thru" mean anyway. If you live in house number 1, does it mean that you can't drive all the way down to the end of the street. If I want to visit house number 50, does it mean I can't enter at house number 1. How is a cop going to know if you entered the street at house 1 and continued all the way down.

A public street is a public street. Can you fathom that we are now going to start selecting certain streets and forbidding people to drive from one end to the other.

There has got to be more to this story. Nobody can be just plain, "that silly."

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Fix the bumpy golf cart path and I will stop using Oak Forest.
If we canot have a true gated community how can a street be closed off to thru traffic. Does not make much sense.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

HHmm I think I will find a sign in a front yard that tells me who lives there and if or when I am stopped I will give them that name. I better got one on each end of the street.

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

This whole thing sounds absurd. Does anyone have any idea where the sign came from? Did residents (or a resident) on the street request it? I had never heard of the street either, surprising since I take Southern Trace to get to Saddlebrook by golf cart. Now I'll have to go check it out when we're back there....

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

What came first the street or the homes? Did the people know that was a thru street when the moved in? Kinda reminds me of the people that move out of the city for the country air then complain that smells like a barnyard because the moved next to a farm that has been there for years.I think the signs are unenforceable any how...

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Sidney,

There are two threads on this subject and I addressed your question the other thread:

"Villages07 noted in a different thread on this topic, it appears that the decision to post the ""NO THROUGH TRAFFIC" signs was made by the Sumter County Commission after consideration of the issue at its 6-24-08 and 7-8-08 meetings. Presumably this issue came to the Sumter County Commission as a result of complaints from residents on Oak Forest.

I would like to know details of the issue and the legal basis for the approach chosen to deal with the issue so I am contacting the commissioners and requesting an explanation of their decision. I would encourage others concerned about the action and/or the precedent set to do the same. The commissioners can be contacted via the Sumter County Board of County Commissioners home page (http://sumtercountyfl.gov/bocc/index.htm).

John"

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

One of the five commissioners has responded thus far. Commissioner Gilpin supports stricter enforcement of existing laws and not restricting the use of the street. He encourages all with an opinion on this issue to attend the next Board of County Commissioners meeting (Tuesday, July 22d, 5 PM, Colony Cottage Rec Center).

FYI...

John

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

On TOTV. There is a Johnny M, A John N and a John M. All are great people but I am so confused. :o ::) ;) :bigthumbsup:

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

Thanks, JohnM! While I can understand the concerns of the resident (or residents) on Oak Forest in terms of through traffic, I do agree that there are two significant problems: (1) enforcement and (2) precedent. We live on what we describe as one of the smallest through streets in TV (6 houses on one side with us right in the middle, and 1 house on the other) and i cannot see through traffic being a problem, but I would guess, given the size of TV, there must be countless streets situated similarly to Oak Forest....

Re: Oak Forest Drive
 

I would add a third...no legal authority: based upon my review of the Florida statute cited and the Florida Attorney General's Opinion ( re Cape Coral), it would appear that, absent compelling legal arguments to the contrary, Sumter County does not have the legal authority to enact such a restriction on the use of a public street. I have asked this question of the five county commissioners and have received no legal basis for the decision. While I sympathize with the plight of the residents of Oak Forest, any remedy fashioned (and they deserve to have one) must be within the legal authority of the government enacting it.

John