Talk of The Villages Florida - Cart path closing

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Cart path closing (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/cart-path-closing-84885/)

Here is the Florida Statute for Lake Co. So I think I was right!

316.2122 Operation of a low-speed vehicle or mini truck on certain roadways.�The operation of a low-speed vehicle as defined in s. 320.01(42) or a mini truck as defined in s. 320.01(45) on any road is authorized with the following restrictions:
(1) A low-speed vehicle or mini truck may be operated only on streets where the posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less. This does not prohibit a low-speed vehicle or mini truck from crossing a road or street at an intersection where the road or street has a posted speed limit of more than 35 miles per hour.
(2) A low-speed vehicle must be equipped with headlamps, stop lamps, turn signal lamps, taillamps, reflex reflectors, parking brakes, rearview mirrors, windshields, seat belts, and vehicle identification numbers.
(3) A low-speed vehicle or mini truck must be registered and insured in accordance with s. 320.02 and titled pursuant to chapter 319.
(4) Any person operating a low-speed vehicle or mini truck must have in his or her possession a valid driver�s license.
(5) A county or municipality may prohibit the operation of low-speed vehicles or mini trucks on any road under its jurisdiction if the governing body of the county or municipality determines that such prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.
(6) The Department of Transportation may prohibit the operation of low-speed vehicles or mini trucks on any road under its jurisdiction if it determines that such prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.
History.�s. 1, ch. 99-163; s. 5, ch. 2009-183; s. 85, ch. 2012-174.

Quote:

Originally Posted by red tail (Post 725205)

this is bad info. a street legal can drive on roads posted 45 or less. they can cross highways like 441 not drive on them. some roads posted 45 are not legal, like rolling acres.

Quote:

Originally Posted by njbchbum (Post 725241)

wendy - if not picketing, wendy, what do you suggest?

See post #551!

How many people sold their homes using the "golf cart path access to WalMart, Lowes, etc" and now have to eat their words! Real estate is really a cut throat business with the best of circumstances! Stir it up with a little controversy and you may lose your "selling perks"!

I have no suggestion of how to handle it. Even I know that you can't legally use the highway right of way to go around!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virtual Geezer (Post 725252)

I believe he owns all the championship courses so look for greens fees to skyrocket. Also look for the cost of priority membership to jump to what many were paying up north just to play one course. And then again he may just convert ALL the CC to private membership. Want'a play and your are gonna pay one way or the other and it will be a lot more.

As the leases run out at the CC restaurants look for changes just like OB.

I don't have a dog in this fight as I don't own property in TV but it sure is giving me second thoughts about buying that's for sure.

VG

So why do you think all these price increases will happen??
This just more hyperbole.

I still say that when all is said and done, we are going to find that there was no malicious intent on the part of the developer. The culprit will be a lawyer somewhere, somehow being either litigious or liability-shy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter (Post 725268)

So why do you think all these price increases will happen??
This just more hyperbole.

And you expect them to go down after this stunt? By closing the path the developer is forcing residents to use the Walmart on 466 which is located on his property and he gets a piece of the action for every dollar spent. He was getting nothing from those using the Walmart on 441.

Harold Schwartz would be rolling over in his grave over this stunt.

VG

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indydealmaker (Post 725270)

Could very well be. But why didn't someone come out and explain what's going on before it was done. At least the people that work over there wouldn't have been stuck on the wrong side on Saturday morning and people like my wife would have had to come back home and ask me to drive her to work on Sunday. We could have made plans and there wouldn't be all of this concern about it.

I'm not saying that a lot of people wouldn't been disappointed and unhappy about it, but at least we would know why it was done and we might have had some time to make alternative plans.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr (Post 725274)

Agreed. Communication always is a good thing..especially when it is two sided.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virtual Geezer (Post 725252)

John.

What in all of this would make you come to those conclusions? He is doing very well the way things are.

He didn't make changes to Orange Blossom Restaurant or close it down. The lease ran out and the owners didn't renew. They asked for a complete renovation first. Morse didn't want to do it. Guess he thought he could rent it to someone else. There had been complaints on this forum about the cleanliness at Orange Blossom but I don't know how true they were.

The championship golf is fairly expensive...not cheap, not expensive.

You could think a lot of things but why now would this issue make you change your mind?

I sure would hate it if you didn't move here. I know how much you look forward to renting every year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virtual Geezer (Post 725273)

Harold Schwartz would be rolling over in his grave over this stunt.

VG

He's not in a grave - believe his ashes are in the statue of him in Spanish Springs square.

Today I followed cart tracks through the grass, and along side US 441 N. I did pass a Sheriff's Department sign (which I sware was blank/dark/not lighted until Bella Cruz Dr, where I found a Sumter County Sheriff's Deputy on a motocycle waiting for me with lights flashing. He stated he had been stationed by his office to prevent exactly what I had just done. I did receive a warning ticket. I presume both the sheriff's sign and the patrolman's pay was at tax payer's expence in behalf of Mr Morse or the Villages.

This path has been open (and specifically inviting) to golf carts in the Villages for at least 15 years, and possibly longer. I wonder if challenged can The Villages legally close this gate through the wall.

I wonder what the cheap motivation Mr. Morse has for closing this important access to doctor's offfices, at least one Emergency Care office in the Villages Hospital system accessible to golf carts.

I am sure he has his wallet mostly on his feable mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 725279)

The story of Orange Blossom Restaurant is the exact same story we heard about the Santiago Restaurant. What was that five years ago, maybe? It's the exact same story we heard about the Chula Vista Restaurant in the mid-2000's. It's the exact same story we heard about the Silver Lake Restaurant in the early 2000's.

After a while of hearing the same story over and over, it starts to sound like a bunch of hooey. This is why I, for one, am not optimistic that the Orange Blossom Restaurant will ever reopen. I hope I'm wrong.

[quote=Indydealmaker;725261]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scres (Post 724974)

A previous post referred to the dirt path and I notice a dirt path used by carts that accesses Lowes from the south across a field.

That's not where the illegal wall blocking access to public roads was erected.

The current dirt path, not the dirt path (now closed) on Mr Brown's property bypassing the construction of the new assisted living facility that probably got Mr Morse in a tizzy, is at the north side of the new paved path provided by the new assisted living facility (thank you and I will wave as I go by) running north about 200 yards to the street at the south side of Lowe's and the new Chase Bank (maybe Mr Morse doesn't like the new Chase Bank???). I would think Mr Brown probably owns that property and is kind enough to allow cart access.

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 725084)

I hear all kinds of views and many from anonymous posters and many from new posters and many from people that most of us have read over some time and have an idea who they are and what kind of folks they are.

I wish that there was some way to know when people log in with inflammatory posts particularly that the rest of us knew if they lived here, if they had a dog in the fight to defame this whole area and the developer for some reason productive to them and their money or if they opposed the developer because he is rich or because they don't agree with his financial support of certain things we aren't allowed to mention.

It seems that the residents of the historic area have more reason, the most reasons to be upset terribly by the change. I wish that the rest of us knew how many do not own cars or cannot drive cars. Is it more than ten people? Is it more than twenty people? Is there a way that can be changed or helped?

I know that I, like many of my age treasure being independent and getting where I need to go myself, without the rigamarole of waiting for others to come pick me up or asking for charity. I see those as most affected. It isn't insurmountable but it isn't going to be easy shifting doctors or hiring a cab or getting a car to take you to work. There are other restaurants and Lowes isn't someplace most of us need to get to frequently. There is a service that will shop for you, I know, I know we like to shop for ourselves.

I am NOT trying to minimize but only trying to do what I have always done for myself when a roadblock is thrown up to my plans. This time unfortunately it is a real roadblock. Acess the damage and try to make new plans.

It is a big problem for those people but just how many people are involved that only have golf cart transportation that could not change that mode? Is it such an issue that they would feel it necessary to move? Does it affect more home owners than renters? Although I don't think that matters now that I have typed it.

I think that most of the rest of us have watched and hoped that the gate would be reopened and the way that you who live in the three villages affected could go back to the way things were.

Perhaps the town of Lady Lake could be persuaded to pave the area of frontage if it is public property?

We may never know the real reason why the wall was put up. I personally think that trying to change it is futile. We do not VOTE in a CDD.

Frustration breeds anger, but is anger productive? I was hoping to hear some good reason why the wall was put up. I think it well may be that the property owner of the area next door could claim that their place is golf cart accessible to The Villages and that is ****ing off the Morses.

You would be surprised at how many people use that path who don't live on the historic side. I live 1 block from seabreeze but love the ride over and stop in Spanish springs for a ice cream on the way. As for people who live on the historic side it is more of an inconvenience than you think. To say just go some other place and shop is not the point. Some of the seniors over there are just more comfortable driving their golf cart over than driving their cars on 441. With no explanation the developer is making himself look greedy try to influence people to shop at his malls.

Let us assume that the closure has been forced upon the developer for whatever reason - liability risk, request from third party, whatever.

How would a good businessman handle this situation?

(A) He could advise the 70,000 people in his development of the closure well ahead of time, via notices and articles in his daily newspaper, saying how sorry he is that many people will be inconvenienced; explaining why it has to happen, and assuring us that he is looking for a solution so that we will not be inconvenienced for too long.

or

(B) He could send in contractors at 6 am on a Saturday morning to build the wall without any prior notice, refuse his employees and his newspaper permission to say anything about it and ensure that, even three days after the wall goes up, no one has any real information as to why it happened.

I'm sorry, but (B) is not the correct answer, so either the developer is losing it as a businessman or the closure wasn't forced upon him.

I didn't read thru the 57 pages of comments on this thread...that said...do we "know for sure" that this was done by the developer?? Could it have been someone else who did it. Generally speaking, whenever a closure is being made (such as 2 lanes on the bridge or golf-cart lanes) there is a post and announcement made by T.V. I would suspect that *if* in fact the developer did this re: the wall, the same would have also happened.

I'm not here to defend or make any other comments re: this. I get it, regarding how it's affecting folks.