Making directional signs more prominent?
 

Yesterday, Sunday, we were driving up Morse in our car. Wondered why cars were pulling right. Turns out there were two women in a golf cart doing 20 mph. Clearly lost, in the left lane of Morse in a non-street worthy cart. By the time we were able to react, we were by them in traffic, so unable to help.
They must have turned onto Morse from a village and missed the 'no carts beyond this point' sign. This happens frequently. Shouldnt the signs be made brighter, larger, orange or something? Also the entrance to the golf cart paths need to be made more clearly cart only so that automobiles arent found on the Brownwood and Lake Deaton golf cart bridges.
How do we fix this? Who do we contact?

Does not happen frequently…….

OP, you can try contacting the local CDD, however all of the roads (with the exception of villa areas) are county roads, so the final authority is probably the county.

Define frequently. 4x in the last 6 months is pretty frequent to me. YMMV.
We were able to reroute 2 of them. One gave us the finger.

For all the carts out here it doesn’t happen that frequently. They need to educate people before they buy/rent a cart.

Your post reminds me of the problem with wrong way drivers getting on the interstate when there are clearly signs posted on the ramps. It’s not always the signage but lack of awareness of the driver, IMO. Just passed a cart on Meggison the other day, cart in the cart lane elderly driver with cell phone up in left side ear (cars passing side). Do you think their number one concern was driving?

4 times?

Not week goes by, I don't see a golf cart driving on a road it shouldn't be on or driving on a cart path. This was last week, on my way home from Palmer Legends (Florida plates on the car). This was the 3rd time in 2025, I've seen a car on a cart path.

I guess they were rerouting you...:crap2:

There is no sign on Steelwater Trail
 

Unless they have installed one recently, there is no 'no carts beyond this point' sign on Steelwater Trail at Morse Boulevard. The first day I was in The Villages, I ended up on Morse because there was nothing telling me I shouldn't take the golf cart through the gate. I could see golf carts on the MMP as I crossed over the Lake Sumter bridge but had no idea how to get there. It was a scary few minutes until I finally got off at the Mission Hills entrance and got on the path.

MMDV

I have made the mistake, once. In my four years here full time what I have seen is 1:1:1
- one cart on a road it should not be
- one cart appeared to be on a road it should not be but was actually a tagged LSV
- one cart pull through a gate, immediately realize its mistake, and U-turn back towards the cart path

Four times in six months? What area was that in?

One avoidable accident is one too many. Jmho.

I’ve always wondered why they put very indiscreet small print signs, with no lighting or reflective night viewing assistance, in a senior community where the general populations eyesight is not what it once was. Go figure?

Ambience over practicality.

Do the math. 140,000 people, each making the mistake once in 4 years, is 35,000 mistakes each year, or 96 mistakes every day.

And yet we don't hear of 96 every day, or 96 every month, or 96 every year, or even 96 in the last four years.

As for the math, 140,000 people did not all arrive last year. We don't even hear about an incident for each of the 4,000 who arrive each year.

Either:
1. There is carnage on our highways that <the paper that shall not be named but is always looking out for things to criticize the Villages over> isn't reporting
OR
2. Not everyone makes the mistake before learning to avoid it. (even my wife and I only made the mistake once for the two of us)

Bingo. The Villages is about appearances.
It's about selling homes, nothing more.

We're seeing golf carts on Marsh Bend Trail much more frequently (as much as several times a day) with the Lifestyle homes in Wellpoint and even Middleton people in their 4-6 passenger carts, some carrying children.

The signage could be more prominent.

Maybe clear instruction in the Lifestyle carts to look for the signs and the distinction between paths with two posts vs one post could help.

Yesterday was on Morse near the fire station on Odell by the driving range.
The middle finger one was the known scofflaw too lazy to go to the golf cart crossing beyond Sawgrass and instead goes through the roundabout from St Cats to Cason Hammock. I would love to see a cop get him.
Third was a cart from Richmond going to Lake Okahumpka rec center by way of the roadway/roundabout instead of backtracking onto the golf cart path near the Water Lily Bridge
Fourth was a cart missing the path turnoff in front of Rohan on Kristine Way and heading to Morse - we were able to catch their attention at the roundabout.
Oh, forgot about the cart going through the lights at Colony and missing the golf cart path turn at the light.
These were all in our 'hood' since thats where the majority of time is spent.

That's a pretty spread out 'hood.'

Guess I need to get out more, or pay more attention.

How long was your training to become a deputy?:22yikes::police:

That sounds more like it. Nice job with the math.

Seen that several times but did not see a "No golf carts" sign at that intersection?

I agree, there isn't any sign there. But the real question: Is there a sign at STILLWATER TRAIL and Morse?

Or, why is there a cart on Stillwater Trail? Don't need a sign where golf carts should never be.

EDIT: I was looking from the wrong side. Carts are allowed on Stillwater east of Morse. Can't see if there is a sign there.

There is a cart/ bike lane on Stillwater between Odell and Morse. Sounds like the OP went through the exit gate and onto Morse northbound and stayed on it all the way across the bridge and got off at the RB before 466, which I suppose is better than turning on to 466

We are out just about every day in our cart. Just in the past week have gone from our house in St Cats up to the Walmart on Wedgewood Lane and today from St Cats to BJs - both drives a bit over an hour each way. You can see a whole lot of bad driving in that span of time.
Most of our trips are between St Cats and Brownwood or Havana/Colony - a half hour one way ish. We think of that as our local area.

Doesnt take 'deputy' training. Situational awareness is a valuable tool - a car trying to avoid the golf cart being stupid make take YOU out.

If you're talking about where I think you're talking about ... yes.

Coming from Caroline on Stillwater, towards Morse, the cart path starts right before the Guard House and goes through the tunnel, under Morse. Coming from the other direction, the cart path is on the right side of Morse and turns into Carolina, crosses Stillwater and runs through the same tunnel.

My answer will not be popular. It is because the birds are back. And the renters. And their families who do not know how big this place is and don't know how to get around. It happens every year at this time and this year we are inundated with people. Please don't tell me how the snowbirds pay my way because I am a year rounder, I am very appreciative that I have nine months without the crowding and it is a shame and a scary thing to see the new folks occasionally lost and being where they should not be. Sometimes cars get on the cartpaths too. In fact a lot of people are reading this who have almost done that.

And we love it that way. If there was a sign up for every little thing, this place would be a horror show. All we would have is signs. Who wants that?

Old people and golf carts. What could possibly go wrong? But if that have trouble getting around in golf carts, what do you think they are doing in a car? Perhaps ban old people from driving anything!

No action needed, just pay attention.

The only way to fix this is to reverse aging.
Age-related forgetfulness sucks. It happens. Just deal with it. Don't freak out.

I can’t speak for the entire Villages, but I’ve seen 3 instances just around Brownwood (1-on the westside, and 2- on the east side departing near the Village Golf Carts onto Buena Vista.

This implies no one ever learns from their mistakes. Most people do

Pretending frogs are the only ones able to read a sign is odd, why pretend such a weird thing?

Seasonal renters are most likely the problem since all of this is foreign to them. Heck, they most likely do not know the difference between one pole at the entrance to a MMP and two poles.

Snowbirds are able to drive and read just fine, they see the same signs every year, just like frogs. Visitors do not.

Logic says it is the visitors and renters. But hey, why let something like logic get in the way of irrationally claiming snowbirds cannot read, drive, or learn, right?

Need a new term, snowbirdophobia or such...the irrational fear of snowbirds that makes the person blame them for everything.

There are people whose awareness needs some help. There are others who are easily distracted, others who are in a "London fog", and there are some who are just plain stupid. We can't put signs up everywhere for them, so we put signs for the rest of us to read and follow. :gc::gc::gc:

Maybe a red circle with a slash through it, over a golf car would help, with the words written underneath or such .

A lot of prescription drugs mess with your mind as well.

While I think the signs are adequate, particularly with a reminder that there are only a few gates that golf carts should be traveling through, a picture instead of (or in addition to) would definitely help.

When I approach a circle in my car I know enough to look for the green sign. Still, with all the signs at the gates and intersections it can be difficult to find the one you are looking for or to take note of everything you are being told. In a cart I know I don't have to look at almost any sign since I can't reach the speed limit, I have a separate lane, and I know to look for cart paths. Putting that together, it is easy to not notice a sign or to miss it in the jumble. A red circle over a cart would be much more noticeable.