No more wal-mart cart trail?
 

Duke Energy has put up a no trespassing sign.
Article on unnamed news site.

Assuming this is true I believe it was only a matter of time. Liability issues I would think.

Not sure why they feel the need now. How many liability issues have there been for all the years it's been used?

Lawyer
 

Most likely one of their lawyers who was bored!

First day with our loaner golf cart we cruised over to Lowes on this path. Like two dopey teenagers we lost track of time and when we came out it was dark and we also had a little lightning mixed in. Mrs Nucky escalated this situation to Code Red status. Like F Troop was going to come out of the dark and do us in. It was a mistake, we survived and it won't happen again. This path is important to many people and I hope something can be worked out for them. I'm sure it was someone trying to climb the Duke Energy corporate ladder that brought this to their attention after a long time of it not being a problemo.

Is this the cart path from TV to Lowes, or the one from Lowes to WalMart?

Thank you

:boxing2:That's It! I'm going solar ..I'll show them....

The one running between Aldi and Wal-Mart.

The “No Trespassing” is not a problem. Janet Tutt can fix it. She is currently preparing to acquire the property behind Rio Grande pool for recreation purposes using an Eminent Domain process called Quick-Take. All she needs to do is include this golf cart path into the proposed plan.

I wouldn't hold my breath on that. They don't want us going over there anyway! Remember the wall?

Bring back the wall

What's the problem?
Remember the wall?
Villagers didn't want StoneCrest people using their Private Property to get to the stores and the Doctors so they put up a gate. Now the villagers want to use private property to get to Wal-Mart.
Maybe we could car pool to Wal-Mart, for those that can't drive. That's what we told other people to do.
No Hypocrisy here.
What goes around comes around.

My guess is that if Wal-mart wants the business, it will make a deal of some sort with Duke Energy; if Wal-Mart does not - then pffft!

Last week I was in the ABC store adjacent to Sam's--there was a golf cart /that was street legal in the parking lot. Just wondering,how can the cart get there legally ?

You answered your own question. If the golf cart was street legal then it drove to the ABC store on the street legally.

I can't figure out if you are a Villager or a Stonecrester or how you stand exactly. I stand for the wall. We have enough people who live here driving golf carts. Perhaps a couple too many according to some.

You didn't include a smilie emoticon, property south of the Rio Grande pool/mail center (which is west of Del Mar) and the property in question is east of Hwy 27/441 in the historic area. That would be a little difficult to link up in an eminent domain issue.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i...fpjNhCz6zxsRNA

From The Villages online newspaper;

"A No Trespassing sign has been posted on Duke Energy’s portion of an unsanctioned golf cart trail that links Stonecrest to The Villages.

The unofficial trail also provides access for Villagers to Wal-Mart, Lowe’s and Aldi. Many golf carts traverse the trail each day.

Earlier this year, a volunteer army made up mostly of Stonecresters brought out heavy equipment and performed a major cleanup of the trail. They put out a bucket seeking donations from those who travel the trail.

In 2013, the Developer put up the “Berlin Wall,” sealing off The Villages from the outside. After a protest in Spanish Springs Town Square and an outcry from furious residents, the wall came down.

A card-access gate went up at the site after the wall came down."

I will believe it when I see the sign!

I am sure this is a liability issue for Duke Energy, utilities get very nervous about people being close to their facilities. It would not surprise me to see a gate go up in the near future if golf carts continue to use the path. This is the same reason that you see gates across the paths used by the utilities for transmission line maintenance. From Google maps, it appears the Duke property goes all the way to the fence around the dentation basin, so it appears there will be no alternative to get around the Duke property.

We can all boycott their electricity. :)

Yea that may work stealing the average Joe's property would not not advise it when it comes to big money folks LOL

The owner of the property has posted a No Trespassing sign. They do not want anyone crossing their property. That should be that.

Seems simple.

:smiley:

It is for me. And DeWilson and you. I bet there will be several more pages of discussion.

and they all scoffed at me when i said this would happen....sheesh! :1rotfl:

DaBears, You are right. When the wall and then subsequent gate went up, it only hurt Stonecresters who had a need to get to other locations. Some Villagers were quite vocal on what they felt was an abuse of their rights. Even though they felt it was appropriate to use others land to get to Aldi, Lowes, and Walmart.

So, I feel all those people are hypocritical. Now no one has access that is needed either way. Stonecrest has easy access to Walmart area. And Villagers only have easy access to Aldi's and Lowes. People that don't drive cars, but did golf carts now cannot get to things necessary for them. Some had jobs at Walmart or Aldi's. This is now a no-win situation.

I doubt there was any concern of liability. This path has been in use for 15 years with no liability issues and has actually been upgraded by volunteers. A while back, Walmart and Duke Energy were working together to make this all work for all going both ways. Once the Villages got greedy and only wanted access for there people is when this all began to come undone. Many of us saw this coming.

Sad state now. No winners, just losers. Small minded people get what they deserve.

Sign
 

Private property. No trespassing sign posted, end of story.

Gracie, does it really matter whether DaBears is a Villager or Stonecrester? Everyone that had a need to go either way now lose. And for some, that creates a real problem, sometimes financial or medical.

The traffic was miniscule and had no major impacts to traffic congestion on the multi-modal paths. Did anyone really notice any traffic differences after the gate went up?

This new change won't change that either.

I believe there are a couple thousand homes in Stonecrest, with perhaps almost that many golf carts? I believe Stonecrest gates are closed to other's golf carts. If anyone wants to drive their golf carts on the multi-modal paths in The Villages, they can buy a home in The Villages. Why should we pay to keep up paths for other developments to use?

And a majority of those Stonecrest people rarely go to the Villages.

Do you think that most of the people that live in Santo Domingo (1980 homes) drive their carts to Spanish Springs? Many probably never even go.

With over 100,000 people living in the Villages, but mostly 100 to 200 people visiting each of the squares (many nights less) nightly says it's a very small percentage. And some choose to drive cars. I think many people enjoy the niceness of The Villages, but the crowds in the Squares indicates its not the most important thing to them.

I think the traffic from Orange Blossum and Stonecrest is a non-issue that is always blown out of proportion. That's my opinion. Each to their own.

Gracie, you are uninformed. There are about 2000 homes in Stonecrest. Golf cart volume is closer to 1100, not 2,000. Also Villagers go in Stonecrest on a very regular basis. They are allowed to use the Golf course, the Club House for dinners/lunch, and often use the Pickleball courts when TV's is too busy.

You don't even need to be invited in. The Gate guards will let you in if you tell them you are going to use those facilities. You can go in by car or golf cart, so Im not sure why people keep assuming that is not possible and proliferating a myth.

Anyway, have a nice night. These discussions really never go anywhere. They just humor us.

"You can go by car and golf cart"

So "the removal of the wall and the installation of the gate has not stopped the flow of golf carts from Stonecrest and Stonecrest's motto of buy a better home here and still enjoy the villages lifestyle still stands. ..neat. I wonder who at Stonecrest or TV is supplying the gate passes?

and apparently those people who you claim they desperately need their golf carts because they can't drive a car are using their cars to get to TV but they can't use them to get to Aldi's etc. Hmmm
I posit if you have a disability that causes you not to be able drive a car should also apply to a golf cart otherwise you are placing yourself and others in danger

Bring back the wall

Like others have stated if you want a village lifestyle buy a house here the cart paths are getting too crowded now

the commercial district public squares are open to all However the CDD's are another matter entirley.

In hindsight whoever did the upgrading to this path which was an extensive amount of work must not have had Duke's permission. That is an assumption before we go down the garden path. If true they bought this situation onto themselves.

If the work was done with no fanfare, that No Trespassing sign may not have been installed. Loose lips sink ships.

Very nice post and research. Thank you for the correct information

No ticket. No laundry.

No home ownership and amenity fee payment, no golf cart usage of multimodal paths. Some who live off campus purchase and use a golfcart that can be driven on the public roads. I always wonder why they just simply didn't buy here.

That's pretty obvious.

More house for the same money.

Had we just wanted to live in this area of Florida and weren't interested in the plethora of activities and amenities (especially the variety of championship golf courses)...we wouldn't have chosen TV.

Any way you slice it, TV houses cost more per SF and you get less yard than in other nearby areas.

We bought based on the entire TV lifestyle, not for the house/land size. :shrug:

Just wondering, how many stores and restaurants have closed in Spanish Springs since the gate has gone up.

Rollie

I was raised to have empathy for others.