Visibility of Gate Arms
 

Just curious if others have difficulty seeing the gate arms at the main entrances? At the main entrance near our home, the arm/bar will stay up for an extended amount of time and then at other times they drop between each car. Regardless, they can be difficult to see due to rain/sun/etc... Why are there not flashing lights on these? The red paint/tape isn't doing much for visibility. I imagine solar powered lights could be added without a lot of expense to the gate arm. I've seen several broken arms so it must be an issue... Is there a department in the Villages where a person could voice their concerns? Thanks.

Yes, many people have complained about the visibility of the gate arms. (Surely it cannot be because our eyes are aging?!)

Response to previous complaints has been that there is a standard for how the gate arms have to be, and our gate arms meet the standard.

I agree that flashing lights, fluttering fringes, neon paint, etc, would be an appreciated improvement. But - our gate arms meet the standard.

Well, why can't we exceed the standard? Why can't we add more visibility than the minimum?

Several previous threads on this if you search for them.

The arms on entrances should drop between each car. Be safe: expect it, plan on it, use your card or the red button in any case.

The arms on exits seem to vary from gate to gate and sometimes even at the same gate. Sometimes they will stay up if you are close to the car in front and other times they come down quickly. But in either case, you know the arm is there so make sure you see where it is before driving through.

The PWAC is the committee to approach with your concerns. Be aware though that the PWAC has already been approached many times with this concern. The three points that seem to come up every time are:
1. The gates are on public roads and so they must abide by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). This is usually interpreted to disallow any suggested visibility aids
2. Everyone should already know the gates are present
3. The problem is not with the gates but with impatient drivers who try to slip through without waiting.

NOTE: You probably haven't seen any broken arms. You've seen arms that are not attached. This certainly could be due to a gate strike but it also could be due to a malfunctioning mechanism.

I hate to say this, but if you can’t see the gate arms, after properly coming to a stop regardless of the gate positioning, then you probably shouldn’t be driving.

To try to make/suggest changes to most systems (ways of doing things) in the Villages is difficult for many reasons. For one, there are many rules and regulations both Federal, state and local that must be complied with before a change. Most of the systems used in the Villages have been around a long time thus are tried and true to be currently the best. Plus, the same exact suggestions/questions have been asked time and time again to then receive the same answers that changes will be made if needed and or allowed.

It took me two years of asking and suggesting while serving on the NSCUDD board to have the NSCUDD name and logo placed on Jacobs waste management trucks. A easy/good suggestion can be made but sometimes takes a while to implemented.:)

If you would do a scan of this site you would find many threads that cover your questions and suggestions in great detail such as ->

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...=gate+lighting

I don't hate to say it.

Thing is - if you're coming to a gate, there is probably a gate house. Gate houses are hard to miss, even if your eyesight is bad. Anyone driving up to a gate house should be thinking "hm - a big structure at the entrance to this neighborhood. I should probably stop, or at least slow down significantly." And then they slow down significantly, which is when they discover - "well how about that, there's a gate here. I guess I'll stop."

This isn't brain surgery or rocket science. If you can see well enough to not drive off the side of the road, then you can see well enough to notice some kind of "thing" at a neighborhood entrance that you should pay attention to.

With sun at certain times gates are hard to see, no matter what vision you have. Plus with as many cataract surgeries done weekly, many have 20/20.

But within 1 day of visiting TV, every driver get the big picture if they can or cannot see a gate. There is a gate crossing or exit at each village, with a gate house, or a big sign that says resident entry.

Gate arms are worthless and should be removed. It's an added expense to maintain. I understand and support some entrances needing them to control traffic, especially where cart and pedestrian crossings are on the other side, but great examples in Fenney and Hammock at Fenney, they are a waste of time and resources.

No, I know they are there so I slow down according.

I just love when gate arms are off and put the stop at the door guard shack (which few stop anyway) where you can’t see nothing from left. The temporary stop signs IMO needs to be after the guard shack, that why uiu can see any thing crossing form left. IMO there also should be painted white stop line at gate so when gate down and no stop sign some might think about stopping and looking.

The gate arms must meet a MINIMUM standard. There is nothing stopping them from EXCEEDING the standard, except of course, more upfront money and more maintenance costs. Most people oppose spending even more money on the gate system.

Many people are in favor of removing all the gates, and all the landscaping (including gate houses) that blocks clear vision of crossing traffic. That would be a huge safety improvement. I wonder if the existing blocked views fail road construction standards and would get removed if challenged? What happens when someone gets hurt and TV is sued by an injury lawyer for multi-millions because those obstructions were deliberately placed, and TV was negligent since they "should have known" that they blocked seeing other traffic.
Getting rid of all that would reduce costs and legal risks, across the board.

Amen to that

I would really like to know if most of the gate arms are broken at the entrance side to a village or at the exit side. Since we all know that you must stop and swipe your gate pass at an entrance gate, seeing the gate arm shouldn't be the problem. At an exit gate, however, visibility might be an issue. I've seen gates that stay open for multiple cars and being able to see whether the gate is staying up or already on the way down might be a problem. If there are a significant number of broke entrance gates, I suspect that the broken gates are strictly the attempt to tailgate behind the prior vehicle without stopping first, and improved gate visibility won't help that.

99% of the time very visable but if the sun hits it just right can see where some will have a problem

Gate visibility varies from one gate to the next and with time of day and weather conditions. Often times they are difficult to see, their dull dirty, faded colors blending with background like a person in camouflage. How often I see someone drive past the mechanism, straight to the gate and stop abruptly, then sit there wondering what to do next or hoping someone else will open the gate for them. I try to make sure they have room to back up.

My wife and I have lived in the villages for 17 years, have gone thru the gates 1,000's of times without hitting one gate. We new from day one that the gates exist. I don't belive it's the gates fault.

Well did see once where the gate went up, the car started immediately thru and the gate fell on the car.

If you can't see the gate arms & just forgot they were there (even though you may have driven in & out hundreds of times) then it's time to stop driving. You could add blinding lights and & neon paint and people would still hit the gates. Just last week a woman somehow managed to roll her car over in front of a gate and hit a car that was waiting for the gate to open, I would estimate that about 1/3 of TV should not be driving. Then when you add in the amount of alcoholics who drive drunk it's no wonder the gates get hit so often. Put down the drink, pay attention, and be patient and the gate system will work just fine as is.

No problem seeing them at all. Only one car is to go thru the gate each time. Most people don’t comply resulting in hitting the gates ( one of the reasons ).

Pay attention and follow the rules.

Great post. The VHA has asked for reflective tape to be added. You cannot do lights because the design is that the gates break away and the wire would either break or cause the gate to wedge and increase damage to vehicles and District Property.

Haven't seen it in awhile but when we first moved here 14 yrs ago, we'd see folks tail-gating through a gate because they didn't want to take the time to swipe their card or hit the button. Then there are the workers with large trucks and pulling a wagon and the gate doesn't allow for that (for whatever reason). These are two of the reasons the gates might be hit. Other reasons might be because of imparments of some kind (age, sight-perception). I do agree that sometimes it's tough to see the gates due to the shadows etc. BUT as others stated you should always be aware that even if there isn't a gate house that each neighborhood (village) has these. It's to regulate traffic AND to help keep cart-drivers safe. When the cart-drivers try to beat the traffic that poses yet another problem and one sees this ALL the time. IF you don't know how we do stuff in the villages because you're new---there is a new resident's meeting held regularily that you can attend to find out "stuff".
On a side note....I observe perception issues quite often. People not pulling up in a parking spot or missing the lines altogether. Yesterday saw a car not pulling up properly at a light and another who didn't pull up in a parking spot at the mailboxes.

In addition, I wonder if a driver can't see a gate that they know is there, how many other potential and unexpected hazards don't they see. Like somebody's 4 year old grandchild. LEARN TO DRIVE OR WALK.

Once we have been here a day or so, we know there is a gate arm at the entrance to and exit from each village off/on main roads. The speed for approaching each gate entrance or exit is 5 MPH. Slow down and expect the gate to be there. If we can't see it, we should not be driving. I expect people in a hurry cause many of the gate hits, and impaired driving causes others.

Change the shape of the gate arm to flat vs. round.

Is that what you want your amenity fee spent on? Not me. I know the gate arm is there and drive accordingly.

Gate arms
 

I was in the camp that the arms are visible enough that no one should miss them. Then, one day, heading south on Morse approaching 466 I was in bright Sun and the gates were in shade. They were invisible until I was right up to them.

And you didn't know as you approached that they were there and slow down appropriately until you saw them?

I guess you don't drive a golf cart, we use the gates to see if a car is coming , gate down no car, gate up car.... I can't imagine how fast cars would zip through without them.

I often see skid marks leading into the center of the round-a-bouts.... sometimes knocking down light poles....maybe we should remove them too ? Get your eyes fixed.

If you go in and out of your community, or just about any community in The Villages, you know that there is an arm when you go in and out. If people drive through it I suspect that falls under inattentive driving (or driving under the influence).

You read my mind

The main problem with much of society today, is that if anything goes wrong, it's someone else's fault.
Personal responsibility went out the window years ago.
Morgan and Morgan et al, are waiting for your call!

Welcome to TOTV. The search button is your friend. This has been rehashed many times. Slow down is the best answer. The Pinellas Plaza gate was missing yesterday, but I still slowed down and stopped out of habit. If you can't see all the infrastructure that entails the gates, maybe it's time to turn in that license.

I have been to several gated communities that have very easy to see gate arms. I have sent videos to The Villages showing the various styles of gate arms that are far superior to ours. It is rumored that the fine for knocking down a gate arm is upwards of $850. Maybe there is an income stream to The Villages that has been kept a secret.

Doesn't
 

Cataract surgery DOESN'T GIVE YOU 20/20 VISION. GEEZZ

O boy
 

A rumor answer. How about posting your source for this "rumor"

Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. 30-50% of patients post ECCE with IOL need glasses to achieve 20/20

(GEEZZ)

Too many blind intersections throughout the Villages due to tall shrubbery and other plant life planted right in the line of sight of gates and intersecting roads. I think a plan is in place to help speed up attrition 😜

Please give one, JUST ONE example of a gate blocked by tall shrubbery. Remember, the discussion is about cars hitting the gate arms because the driver didn't see them, not those gates that have MMP crossings that have some plantings that obscure the oncoming traffic---especially when the gate arm is missing.

It's an unsafe design to have walls, shrubs, rocks, etc that are placed in a way to block the line of sight between cars and golf carts at any crossing. Are we just lucky Morgan and Morgan have not sued the villages yet for an injury accident where one party states "I couldn't see the car because TV put unsafe obstructions on the public roadway".
Why is that allowed to exist?
Why do golf carts have to inch into the roadway to see if a car is coming? Is that safe?
I do not trust crossing based upon seeing a gate arm down because the time a truck that plowed right through it without stopping.