Gates
 

As I ride around the villages I realize there are a lot of gates knocked down by cars or otherwise. There have been tens of thousands of dollars invested in gate cameras. I wonder if the people who knock down those gates are tracked down and held responsible to pay for the damage and if they do not reimburse the Villages are they turned in to the Police for leaving the scene after causing property damage.

you betcha

There is one day every five years when they are herded to the squares and put into stocks.

The gate bar job repair is a much sought after job by locals.

The cameras have done their jobs a couple of times getting good pictures of bad people and thousands of pictures of people going in and out safely into one of the safest places to live on earth.

A lot of times, if we step back and look a the big picture we will see much less expense here for foolish things like mayors salary and more beauty, cleanliness, well kept roadways and happiness than most places.

Let us know when that day is would you Gracie? We can organize a party around it.
:boom:

Save us six chairs in the front row please! :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Take those stupid gates down. They serve no real purpose.

Yes they do. They slow cars down so carts can cross.

The gates provide flow control of traffic so that cars don't T-bone golf carts.

So it is not just the snow birds knocking them down?

You couldn't be more wrong.

Just like the Berlin Wall....Take those Gates Down Now.

Nothing but placebos for the nervous

Besides slowing traffic to allow the flow of golf carts, the associated gate cameras have helped solve crime within The Villages.

The Villages News Feb 2015:

District manager Janet Tutt told members of the Community Development District 1 board Friday that the cameras recently disputed a motorcyclist’s claim that a gate caused him to crash.
The motorcyclist demanded that The Villages pay for his motorcycle repairs and new clothing. “The video showed he was nowhere near the gate,” Tutt said. “Really, the risk avoidance is huge when it comes to the fiscal impact.”

Villages News July 2015:

Good police work and gate cameras led to the arrest of a 28-year-old ex-convict who allegedly stole appliances from newly constructed homes in the Village of Pine Ridge. Sumter County sheriff’s deputy had been ordered to be on the lookout for Michael Joseph Leonard of Sumterville who was suspected in several appliance thefts from new homes in The Villages.

He was spotted in a pickup truck driving on State Road 44 in the vicinity of Morse Boulevard. A deputy followed the pickup to Wildwood Shopping Center. Leonard left the vehicle on foot and then returned with his mother in another pickup truck, according to the arrest report. While deputies watched, Leonard removed a stainless steel microwave from his truck and placed it in his mother’s truck. The deputies approached Leonard and his mother and informed them they were investigating appliance thefts in the new Fruitland Park section of The Villages.

Deputies checked with Fruitland Park police who confirmed that a house had been burglarized on Elliot Avenue in the Village of Pine Ridge. The microwave, dishwasher and range had been removed from the home. The serial number of the microwave in Leonard’s mother’s truck matched the serial number of the microwave taken from the home on Elliot Avenue. The other appliances were found in the back of Leonard’s pickup truck.


Villages News April 2016

A suspected trailer thief was arrested after the camera at the Hillsborough Gate provided key evidence in the criminal case against him. James Roy McPeters, 27, who lives on Eagles Nest Road in Fruitland Park, is facing a felony charge of grand theft following his arrest Tuesday by Sumter County sheriff’s deputies.

An image captured by the camera showed McPeters’ vehicle entering the gate without the trailer and then leaving with the trailer which was taken from a nearby construction site in The Villages, according to the arrest report. A bulletin was sent to nearby law enforcement and the trailer was spotted by a Fruitland Park police officer. A warrant was obtained and McPeters was taken into custody. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center on $2,000 bond. He has an extensive criminal history including an arrest last year here.

I could go on, but you should get the point of the gates and their cameras.

Make a few passes through our traffic circles and it quickly becomes obvious that stupidity is not limited to the "snowbirds".
I believe that posting signs, very prominently, announcing the use of cameras, ahead of the gates, could reduce the number of unwanted "visitors from the outside". Of course, the real criminals already know that the gates do little for our "security".

As I ride around the villages I realize there are a lot of gates knocked down by cars or otherwise. There have been tens of thousands of dollars invested in gate cameras. I wonder if the people who knock down those gates are tracked down and held responsible to pay for the damage and if they do not reimburse the Villages are they turned in to the Police for leaving the scene after causing property damage.
Edit/Delete Message
It seems to me that people have gone off subject. I wanted know if anyone pays for the damage done and if not do they get reported to the police department for leaving the scene of an accident after causing property damage.

Go back to Bogie's post #4 and follow the link. If you know any of the people in those videos, you can help solve the gate crashers depicted. The fine is $250.

Here's the link again Village Community Development Districts

Here's a channel 9 story Oct 2012:

Villages cracks down on golf cart driving gate crashers | WFTV

Here's a channel 9 updated story Feb 2015:

New cameras could cut down on gate crashers in The Villages | WFTV

As long as people are getting off subject how about the white posts at the entrance of all golf cart paths. Do people have to pay for those being damaged? Those are damaged more often than the gates.

The answer is in the links, all you have to do is read Channel 9 News Story Oct 2012.

In the Villages, there are just as many golf carts as there are cars. But there is a problem with some of those golf carts and security gates. New security cameras have caught several residents driving through and breaking the gates. Scott Wilder, head of the Villages Community Watch, told WFTV's Racquel Asa that it happens at least a 100 times a month in the massive community. "Sometimes we will see people who activate the gates, and then there are people who are impatient behind them follow through behind them without activating the gate," said Wilder. Wilder said that initially it was hard to catch those who were crashing through the gates because the security cameras weren't that good. Now they have installed better ones that can see much better and can catch whatever car or cart is responsible. A Villages representative couldn't tell Asa how many people they've caught so far. They did say that those who are caught get a $250 fine.

Getting residents to report their neighbors isn't easy, officials said. "I have never taken the gate out, but I know someone who did. I won't give you her name," said resident Claudia Ivanjack. "I hope that even the thought of 'Oh, they are going to start capturing us on video,' that would shame them into turning themselves in," said Wilder.

A Villages representative said the community will not remove the gate because it helps regulate traffic flow in and out of the community.

I stand corrected. You COULD be more wrong.

Apparently you do not drive a golf cart....... They serve the purpose of stopping vehicles from hauling ass thru the gates and running over walkers, bikes, carts - get the idea as to why they're there?

They do! Several robberies have been solved because criminals are not smart enough to cover their license plates. Keep em up!

they slow down traffic but not always so golf carts can cross. ie del mar etc

No, a drunk is a drunk is a drunk!

I so disagree! chaos would reign without them!!

Good photos
 

Originally Posted by Gpsma
Take those stupid gates down. They serve no real purpose.

:agree:

Furthermore, as I have pointed out in another thread, they cause cars moving through the gates to slow down so that good video of their license tags and vehicle occupants may be obtained for possible future criminal investigations.