Why so few sidewalks in the Villages?
 

Why do we have so few sidewalks in the Villages?? I grew up in a small town and we had sidewalks on every street - and this was more than 60 years ago.

Because there are no sidewalks, I see a lot of people walking in the street where they can be hit by cars. Instead of spending money on a sidewalk along 44 - where very few people walk - wouldn’t it be better spent in the residential areas where thousands walk every day??

cost$$$$

There are sidewalks or paths where they are needed; where there are no sidewalks there is no need. I much prefer the green grass over tens or hundreds of miles of concrete.

Sidewalks are designed to get people (without cars) to places (businesses) they have to get to. They generally are not "walking paths".

Waste of money.

Add enough sidewalks (that cost money) and there will be less room for homes (that make money).

Why so few sidewalks in the Villages?

Nobody walks!:shrug:

Not everywhere, there are places where pedestrians have to walk in the street to get to a MMP, typically near gates.

One example.

With the size of home sites, can you imagine how much smaller the site would be with a sidewalk!!

Has there been a rash of pedestrians hit recently?

In addition, it's the homeowner's legal responsibility to maintain those sidewalks. Imagine the hue and cry of homeowners when Community Standards orders them to remove and replace old sidewalks with cracks in them, just so the guy walking his two dogs from the other side of the neighborhood can walk without tripping on a broken piece of concrete.

I have to walk in the street in my neighborhood to get to the closest sidewalk - no difference there. It looks like Reagan Rd has a posted 20mph speed limit, I'm not sure there is a posted speed limit in my neighborhood.

As someone else asked, has there been a rash of pedestrians hit recently?

I don't want a sidewalk in front of my house, it would take up space, look ugly, and is completely unnecessary for the volume and speed of traffic. If we don't have sidewalks on both sides of every road then there must be something to determine where they are needed. Perhaps the decision was to put a sidewalk or path along any road with a speed limit greater than 20mph. That seems reasonable to me and could explain why there is no sidewalk on Shale Trail Loop or Reagan Rd.

You must not get out much

This is specific to an intersection at a MMP. When I look at other similar intersections, they have a sidewalk on one side to the MMP.

Yes. Pinellas is a posted 30mph road and has a sidewalk to the trail that runs along Buena Vista. You show only the east side of the roundabout but the west side has the same configuration.

There are roads off Pinellas that lead into neighborhoods. Most of these roads do not have sidewalks or speed limit signs. It's hard to say if the lack of sidewalks there is due to a low expected traffic volume, an implied 20mph speed limit, or simply lack of space.

I'm refering to connections at a gate/intersection. So here's one more similar to Reagan. I can't find any other roads connecting to the MMP that do not have a sidewalk near the gate?

But this one (Deskin) does have a sidewalk connecting to the path.

Are you pointing out that Reagan is one of the only, if not the only, road without a sidewalk connecting to a path? That may be the case. It could very well be that there is a single example of a road that ought to have a sidewalk but doesn't (there are probably a few more).

Okay, there are a few places that probably could benefit from a sidewalk. Given the hundreds of miles of roads in the Villages, one (or even a few) example of where a sidewalk is needed is hardly evidence of "so few sidewalks in the Villages."

Putting in sidewalks would have no impact on the size of a lot. It would not make it larger or smaller.

Also, a lot of streets are very narrow for sidewalks

A sidewalk would certainly cut down on the usable, enjoyable portion of the lot. It would also encourage walkers to be on my property and encourage walker's dogs to leave their droppings even closer to my front door.

Just in case: If walking on the sidewalk is not "on my property" then the size of my property certainly would be impacted by taking it for a sidewalk.

So you have an endless list of things to complain about.

:a040:

I think it was purposely designed to be unfriendly to walkers.

Yes, but more from the perspective of justification for making a formal suggestion to add a sidewalk.

Your comments are helping put my thoughts together for suggesting a change so thanks for the input..

Also, Reagan has a 30 mph speed limit and will soon be a connector road option to the Sawgrass bridge.

Where is Regan Road?

:1rotfl::1rotfl:

Off Marsh Bend Trail at the entrance to Monarch Grove.

It’s Reagan Road

Maybe call someone who actually knows. Doubt any on social media can fulfill your inquiry.

Thanks, corrected.

A bigger issue are the fools who walk down the street in dark clothing at night.

I vote - no sidewalks. They are a waste of money and take up space and have to be pressure washed annually

A lot of people in residentIal areas walk in the streets. Yet, in the more than two years I’ve lived here, I don’t recall reading about someone being hit by a car in those areas. The residential areas have reduced vehicle speeds, and walkers watch out for vehicles and vice versa. Actually, for a lot of walkers, stepping up and down over curbs is potentially more dangerous than is walking on the streets. It’s easy to trip and fall. There would need to be ADA approved ramps all over the place. The way it is is much better. One of the glories of The Villages is that neighbors and their dogs walk in the street and stop to chat with each other. With sidewalks on opposite sides of the street, that would happen less often,

Rainger: thousands??? don't think so.

Yay - No Sidewalks
 

I like the no-sidewalk look - more natural and less concrete to maintain.

I suspect the lack of sidewalks also reduces vehicle speed by visually making the street appear narrower. The default speed limit is 20 and some neighborhoods are marked 10.

The overnight street parking ban also plays into this.

Sidewalks.
 

Well, I guess you didn't notice that BEFORE you bought in The Villages! How about all those walking paths?

The sidewalks on State road 44 are not put in by The Villages. Agree they seem wasteful, but I don’t want them here either. Unnecessary, plus we are too much like a city already

I am sure you will get many reliable answers on this site!!

They are expensive.

In addition, homeowners have to edge them to keep things looking nice. Inevitably, some wouldn't. You also end up with a “death strip” of grass between the sidewalk and street which is difficult to keep irrigated. Then who keeps them up with they crack, sink, become uneven, have tree roots move them, etc. Agree sidewalks are nice, but they come with lots of baggage.

Why? The developer is saving millions of dollars by not installing sidewalks. Plus money is saved by not having to maintain sidewalks.