We have the worst gates in the Villages
 

I’m just back from a short trip. I enter Virginia Trace through the gate at Stillwater and Canal. The resident gate is knocked off its arm. The non-resident gate is not working properly and therefore left up. I would estimate that one or both of these conditions exist two to three times a month. I don’t see this same situation at other gates throughout the Villages. Why is the resident gate so frequently knocked over. Are that many impaired people leaving Lake Sumter Landing at night? Why is the nonresident side frequently inoperable? It seems like it’s mechanically way out of warranty. The single exit side gate is somewhat more reliable, but only somewhat.

I want to propose that the entire installation be torn up and redone. While it’s torn up, I would also like a real cute gatehouse added. I want one just like the ones you see along El Camino Real. You know, the ones with the filigree on top. I don’t demand a person to man my gatehouse but if there is one I’ll supply a description of what they should look like. It seems crystal clear to me that the gatehouse will foster much better driving from the impaired people leaving the Landing.

It they can't see the gate ? How that going to stop people from not stopping? Gates And speed bumps would work better IMO. Something that would rattle you teeth out it you were going over 5 mph entering the gate:pepper2::pepper2:

It's not the gates that is the problem, it's the drivers.

Exactly. Impatience, being the key word.

yes speed bumps should help, but maybe just remove the gates.

I Like The Gates
 

The gates serve a very valid purpose with benefits far outweighing liabilities.

I am sure a small percentage of people hit the gate arms out of spite, a % because they should probably not be driving at all % because they are approaching the gate too quickly % inattentive/drunk % because they miscalculate % that try and slip through by piggybacking on the car ahead and a % that use the gates picture perfect.

So don't be spiteful, don't drive if you can't, don't speed toward the gate,don't drink while driving and take your tun in line and 100% of us will use the gate picture perfect

Is that a lump inside your cheek? :icon_wink:

Don

Might be more appropriately titled "Worst Drivers in the world"!

Also, the villages of Virginia Trace, Sable Chase, and Largo are, as far as I know, the only villages that does not have a NEARBY gate house attendant. If someone is looking for a particular address or information of any kind, there is nobody to help them at Stillwater/Canal entrance, Morse/Odell entrance, Buena Vista/Odell entrance across from Miona Rec. Ctr. , OR Bonita/Canal entrance. All 4 gates are unattended and a person with a question would have to go to Buena Vista/Odell across from Sea Breeze Rec. Ctr.

The problem is cars. That's what's knocking all the gate arms down!

Amen to that! I usually leave my home at about 6am to do my 5 miles; As I was walking north on the MMP besides Buena Vista this morning, there goes a non street legal Club Car going south on Buena Vista. I thought I had seen my share of bad drivers in my 25 yrs. as a LEO; nah, these here are incredible.

The gates are a joke!
 

Hear! Hear! The gates are an utter and complete joke! Although no Villages officials will ever admit it, I suspect the gates serve as a marketing ploy, giving the appearance of is a gated community. Speed bumps would be just as effective in slowing down traffic without the expense of manning and maintaining the gates. Take the stupid things out!

YOU ALL ARE REALLY SILLY. THE GATES GET knocked down mostly by people trying to rush through with the person in front of them. Sometimes a large truck is pulling a unit behind, and that hits the gate. there are cameras that records the incidents. People are charged for the damage. 99% of the people in the villages have no problem with the gates.

Without the gates or when the gates are broken, it is very dangerous for golf carts to cross over Canal to get to the cart path - we definitely need those gates for our safety - they are NOT stupid.

gates
 

I agree!! If you ever saw the amount of money spent to repair the gates it would make stripping the paths seem like chickenfeed!!:agree:

So, how much money is spent?

My wife and I are amazed at the amount of gates that are damaged by people that seem to be in a rush here in The Villages. The card reader at the St. James gate was completely demolished recently. How does one o abut doing that? We hope that cameras were able to capture the offending vehicle and bill the owner for damages and labor.

Speed bumps to slow the NASCAR drivers would definitely cut down the damage.

I'm all for speedbumps. There are places where gates are needed, perhaps, but they should rethink gates for the near future.

Are the gates able to gather data? If so, they would would provide extensive information about demand, traffic patterns, and road usage to TVLS, Inc.

In addition, if our gate cards are keyed to specific addresses, the gates would also provide individual data about our comings and goings. (I don't think they are linked to us and personally wouldn't give two toots what data was gathered about where I go -- just wondering.)

A person with a question can actually push the red button and have a conversation with the gate monitor on duty.

Surely you jest!
Village Community Development Districts

Why would the OP assume that it is only "impaired drivers coming back at night from LSL"? Our Summerhill gate is down quite often and it has to do with primarily impatient, not impaired, drivers. My big question for anyone is "why do they feel the need to piggyback through the gates?". They can't spare an extra maybe 10 seconds to reactivate the gate? Don't have your card? Push the button. Easy. Don't have time for the exit gate to go up? Too bad.

Our exit gate was inoperable yesterday and they had a stop sign in place. I stopped, effectively irritating the guy behind me, and then when we got to the corner and I was going to turn left, he came up to turn right and blew right through the stop sign on CR101. Think he would have stopped at the one at the gate had he not been forced to do so by my stopping??? Neither do I.

:duck:

Take the ridiculous gates down--they were purposely put up so that The Villages could claim to be a "gated" community. I would really like to know where the legal authority is granted to The Villages to put up the barriers on public roads. Would someone be able to point me to the law providing them this right? And if the gates are on public roads, then why are the citizens of The Villages required to pay for their upkeep? Why are they not funded by the government?

We have the worst gates in the Villages
 

I don't agree. The gates serve a purpose and that is to keep us from getting crushed when we cross the larger roads in TV.

That could be my gate...
 

I bet almost everyone said to themselves, after reading your post..."that must be my gate." Lol! - just yesterday my hubby said: ". I'm going to go out in the street & install speed bumps about two houses before our house...& another speed bump about two houses on the other side." Tee hee! No one will know what's going on. The neighbors will just accept it as they ride by & say: "hi what are you doing?" & then hubby will respond: "oh, just installing the speed bumps over here." :a040: lol!

Do you drive a golf cart? Do you use the MM Trails in any way? I'm guessing that you don't if you think the gates are useless. How many Villagers do you think would be injured/killed while crossing roads between the MM Trails if there were no gates? Can you imagine the backups on the MM trails if cart drivers, bikers and walkers/runners had to wait for a break in traffic to cross every major road in TV? Can you imagine the backups that would occur for vehicular traffic if every other car stopped to let carts pass in front of them (which would inevitably happen)?

Do you think the roundabouts would work as efficiently if there were no gates to break up and slow down traffic exiting various Villages onto Buena Vista/Morse? The gates are there for traffic control and security (cameras). And they fulfill that purpose very well.

The upgraded cameras that have been/are being installed assist in tracking down the gate crashers. And gate crashers pay a big fine (I heard $250.00). The gate arms are designed to easily break away so as to alleviate as much damage as possible. Many times, they simply just have to be put back on and adjusted. However, over time the arms and internal mechanisms do sustain damage. I suspect the collected fines from the gate crashers go along way in fixing and maintaining the gates.

The reason that The Villages is allowed to put up gates on public roads is because anyone can enter by pushing the button. I guess the "legal authority" comes from the local counties/municipalities that agreed to the gates in the first place.

And finally, I don't know about you...but I never had the impression that TV was a gated community. I figured that out the first time I drove up to a gate and pushed a button to get in. Even if I hadn't figured that out the first time I visited, I certainly did enough research before buying here to have known whether or not I was buying in a gated community.

Cast Iron Gates??
 

Maybe they should try those new cast iron gates that a supplier has been trying to sell TV. That'll slow down the first few and after that, the word will spread.

Cars & Trucks along with the Piggyback drivers are breaking those gates. People are in to damn much of a hurry period.Can't blame it on the Golf Carts because unless your a street legal you don't belong on those roads. A Gate Shack would require a whole reconstruction of that area and I don't see that happening. Wish they'd start catching these gate crashers though. Canal & Bonita Blvd isn't much better.

Stop signs & stop sign cameras--ticket drivers running the stop signs
I almost nailed a golf cart the other day who was piggy backing another golf cart & he got ticked off when I blew the cars horn

Del Mar gate use to get hit by golf carts alot. Not just cars golf carts to.

Leave the gates alone. It is hard to imagine how many serious accidents would occur ( crushed golf carts) without them. Would like to see statistics on amounts collected from those who smash into the gates???

We have two carts and travel everywhere (in TV) in our chariots. I shudder to think about the results if they are removed.

It is time to set all the gates to "auto open", just like they do in the new construction areas. You drive up to the gate, stop, and it opens automatically. Enough of the red buttons and swiping gate cards.

I think the gates should have spikes... BIG ones.... and exploding bags of dye that permanently mark the vehicle, so we can all see who the jerks are that break gates and keep going. International Orange would be a good color to use....

I used to think the gates should have electric voltage running through them, but I have mellowed a bit.

I agree, it's so hard to push that red button at this age and those cards, can't they make them out of something lighter. Since we are old, pushing buttons and swiping cards are becoming so difficult.

Here's the real story.
 

When the developers construct a village they produce a deed for that village. The deed stipulates whether or not there should be a gate, where to place it, and whether it's manned or unmanned.
When the deed is turned over to the VCDD they have to honor the deed and cannot change what is in it.
Maybe someone can get the developers to change the deeds to be less restrictive in future Village building, but I doubt it.
As far as training drivers or changing their attitudes - good luck.
Larry

Worst gates claim unchallenged
 

I am the original poster and my premise was that the gates at Stillwater and Canal are consistently broken more than any other set of gates in the villages. I have not seen that challenged. Since August 1st, the a resident gate has either been on the ground or reset at a ridiculous angle. The nonresident gate is out of order and set in an open position. This is not unusual. I am going to speculate that one or the other of these two gates is broken more often than both work.

I think it's probable that being the first gates South of Lake Sumter landing contributes to the problem. It might be strictly traffic volume leaving the landing. It could also be that some of the drivers are not as coordinated as they were when they went into the square.

If you make a challenge to my claim of worst gates, please supply details.

well put! couldnt agree more.

I'd pay good money to see that show! Just another example of impatient people.:popcorn:

yellow bands
 

Barber pole red stripes on a bright white background is nearly impossible for some old folks to see. Unless one is looking for the gate to be down there's a good chance one will bang into it.
The most difficult gate is the golf cart only gate on Belvedere (the 1st gate south of 466). If one's golf cart wind-shield is up, one's expected to look through Lexan and detect a red stripe against bright white ...in bright sun, unless you're expecting the gate to be there, you're toast.

yellow bands
 

Barber pole red stripes on a bright white background is nearly impossible for some old folks to see. Unless one is looking for the gate to be down there's a good chance one will bang into it.
The most difficult gate is the golf cart only gate on Belvedere (the 1st gate south of 466). If one's golf cart wind-shield is up, one's expected to look through Lexan and detect a red stripe against bright white ...in bright sun, unless you're expecting the gate to be there, you're toast. A yellow stripe (ADA approved) might help