Route 1 was always a bit congested, but man, the last time I was there, maybe 5 years ago, it was brutal. Could not move at all. And with the dinosaur and plastic cows gone, what's to see? Is the Leaning Tower still there, I have no idea? Heck even Kowloon is slated to close soon.

We are, I guess it's called, snowflakes. In the colder months I'd say the turnpike noise can be a real problem in Lake Denham. I know LeRoy said it's intermittent. But we heard it inside more than a few times. But my wife was just down this week and it was only noticeable early in the morning. I think the warm humid air helps a lot.

I agree with LeRoy a lot too on walking trails, and nature. It's more of what we are looking for. I was so excited when our alligator moved into the pond behind my house. :D

I think 'zero possibility' might become a 100% possibility soon. I'm expecting the golf cart bridge across the turnpike at 470 to be announced soon-maybe as soon as Tuesday at the 'Night with the Developers' being held at the Sharon. I am told it will be a golf cart only bridge-one 'pre-fabbed' off site, similar to the Chitty Chatty and Water Lily bridges. Those went up pretty quick. Wouldn't involve relocating turnpike exits at all-it would be just north of the entrances/exits. If you walk back in that area-you will see the surveying already being done-and the 'walking path' behind the southern most villas already graded to be easily expanded into a 'multi modal'. Makes Eastport a 10 minute car ride and 15 minute golf cart ride away, and puts Middleton just as close (access down Landstone Boulevard-the 'back' way). I live in Lake Denham-and this is exactly why I bought there. All this in one year-not 5 or 10. One of us is probably wrong, and one of us is probably right-Betting we'll find out soon!

Why would they build a bridge after the fact that would cost $10M+ just to make two poorly located villages have easier access to Eastport?

Told by whom?

5+ years each is "quick"?

Good luck, that's quite the optimism. I'm getting used to things in TV running at a snails pace. Like the announced restaurant at Okahumpka from almost a year ago having almost zero progress, or a single building at Edna's taking almost a year to complete.

The developer is having a heck of a time unloading his inventory in Dabney and Denham. A bridge would make that area more attractive. Yes! I can see it happening. It would protect his future builds. Sometimes, you have to spend money to make money.

Anything is possible.
Around 2011, on Interstate 93 just outside of Boston, there was a project titled Fast 14. 14 bridges were prefabricated...off site and over the course of ten weekends....were replaced. A five year project completed in less than two months. Little or no disruption to traffic. Yes it was a taxpayer funded infrastructure project....but it proved that it can be done with proper planning. A dedicated singular prefab MMP bridge would be a cake walk for the developer...given his relationship with the Gov and his administration. So I’m not questioning this posters ‘insider hot take’....just that I’ve seen it done and it definitely could happen

In 5 years, that area will look nothing like it is today. The Developer has significant property available south of 470.

As mentioned previously, that interchange is being redesigned will be replaced as part of the Turnpike Widening to 8 lanes and 470 reroute and widening to 4 lanes.

The state now requires pedestrian access for all new overpasses across the Turnpike.

The West Orange Trail has a new bridge under construction across the Turnpike that is similar to the Waterlilly Bridge.

Turnpike Design work just started and construction scheduled over the next 5+ years.

If I recall correctly, Don Wiley who is also on the regional road committee, indicated an MMP over the Turnpike is likely.

I'm not sure how you define "heck of a time" but according to the Lake County property appraiser, who's data is usually 6 weeks or so behind, through early March 91.1% of Lake Denham had been sold and even 52.5% of Dabney had been sold. Over 20% of the unsold in Dabney are the interior lots in the "enclave", which, it appears, are a little less desirable in that area.

Time to quit bashing Dabney. Yes, if using your golf cart for everything is a BIG requirement, then it's probably not for you. If you like having a post office about a mile away (Okahumpka PO) or all sorts of shopping just a little further down the road on US 27 in Leesburg, then it's a GREAT location.

Don’t Go Personal
 

It isn’t just the Developer who is taking hits, it’s national. Larger builders like Lennar, D.R. Horton, and Toll Brothers have all had disappointing housing starts data. Some gimmicks working to attract buyers are “builder” mortgages that are lower than the market’s 7-8% range. The Tampa market is getting crushed by the economy and Fed policymakers. It will take time to adjust to normal building paces.

I think you answered your own question

I hope you're correct, I'd like to collect on that 6:1 beer bet I have with Normal. I think the fact that he never really agreed to the bet isn't all that important.

I was looking at that walking path on google maps recently and totally agree. At least on the map it heads right toward the turnpike.

If we get a bridge announced I will buy you 3 beers next time I’m down there.

Question for others (could be its own thread but you guys know about bridges).

When I go over Brownwood bridge and maybe a couple other bridges (golf cart bridges) there seems to be a walking path up and down but they stop at the main part of the bridge. Meaning they sort of lead right to the golf cart road over the bridge. Is walking over these bridges allowed? Seems if you are walking you’d have little space to get out of the way. The raised curb on the side is too thin to be walking on.

Yes, because it isn’t
 

LOL, the distance between the WaterLilly and Bexley (Sawgrass) bridges is 2 and a half times greater than the distance of Bexley to 470 and the turnpike. What benefit would there be to all of a sudden put in an unneeded bridge because of a very few? Dabney residents only have to drive a cart to Sawgrass to pass over the turnpike. We are talking about golf carts after all.

Good question-2 reasons (IMHO)-1) TV is having a really hard time selling out Dabney-although I agree, not sure it makes sense to spend that much money to sell 100 houses (Plus 'Enclave' lots unsold) 2) Land south of Dabney is owned by TV on the Dabney side of the turnpike and slated for commercial development, to the best of my knowledge. My conjecture is that the Bridge over will lead to a tunnel under to give all residents access to the future commercial area. The 'bridge under' could be accomplished once the car overpass is rebuilt as part of the 'turnpike widening project'-I think slated for 2027-more info on that can be found at 'turnpike widening' Dot Com. That opens up the south side of 470 to thousands of 'golf carts' and makes the area more commercially viable in the distant future. So bottom line, I think Step 1 is the golf cart bridge-it will have to be there eventually spanning the new widened 8 lane turnpike-so why not now?

Because you dont..easy peasy

I doubt many walk over those bridges after doing once.

According to Don Wiley, at that time of design, FDOT was afraid walkers would throw stuff on the roads below. So FDOT would't approve a pedestrian walkway across the bridge.

More recently, several bridges, that look strikingly like the Villages bridges, have been approved with pedestrian walkways accross the Turnpike, Including the Bexley bridge.

Any issues on those structures.....with walkers throwing stuff on the roads below? Sounds more like an inner city excuse to me

A connection you may be missing is that any new bridge must also have pedestrian access.

It's a relatively small incremental cost within a four billion dollar project to widen into a MMP. Bexley Bridge and West Orange Trail are examples.

Maybe part of the reasons the bonds are so high in that area is to provide funding for the access?

The separate side with barrier is for bikes, who have a tendency to have hard time with the incline, slowing down carts. Safe way for them to go up hill then merge to go over bridge. Bridges aren’t really pedestrian friendly, no that little curb on the side isn’t made for people to walk. But to keep carts from hitting the side of bridge

Ahh, that makes sense. Thanks!

Listening to Gold Wingnut live and he thinks there will be a golf cart path over the turnpike on 470. They have to build another bridge. They will redo the ramps. The developer has the contract to build it with Lake County. So it's not the turnpike authority. That makes a lot of sense that they would put a golf cart path.

Thanks for the update and good news the build is contracted to the Developer.

Can you give me an opinion on this part of the video, at 58:17 someone asked about a tunnel under 470 at Dabney to the new area south of 470. The area is owned by the Villages and Don said it will be commercial, most likely. The way Don phrased it I think he would bet there will be a tunnel. But listening to it a few times, he may have meant he'd take the side of that bet that they wouldn't do it.

By "easy money" I assume he meant they'd make money by Villagers having golf cart access to new stores.

What do you think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHFXi9oBVf0

Milk
 

Publix or win Dixie both just over 2 miles away..was there a question????

Well Tradewinds isn’t golf cart accessible, yet the parking lot is pretty full. So whatever retail they build on the other side of 470, will still be busy even if it’s by car only.

If we play golf near Lopez we drive a cart from Richmond, but if we are going to eat in the general area we drive. That way we can stop at couple of places on the way home.

Either way for us when we bought in Pennacamp everyone on this site said we were isolated, and no one would buy those houses. That didn’t happen

Plus I am surprised developers would start discounting houses in left field at the corner of Isolated and end of the earth if a bridge was coming in the next year or so.

Every neighborhood has waited for enough homes to be built before retail was opened. No businesses will open and be void of customers unless they have a reason to throw away money.

Highly likely a tunnel will be under 470 in Lake County to connect to whatever they build on the other side, as they did in Sumter County.

Earlier plans talked about re-aligning 470 to smooth out the dog legs so it's possible that road will be relocated as they did replacing 470 with Central Parkway.

https://cdn.lakecountyfl.gov/media/zjqfy5nr/cr-470.pdf

That’s great. We won’t be as isolated as everyone says. I was looking at that area and thinking if they are making 470 into 4 lanes it will be easy to add a tunnel under. Plus that rectangular spot at the end of Chandler on 470 that looks like a potential strip mall or gas station already has a MMP to it.

The question is what and when.

Magnolia Place is still waiting for A CVS.

Or maybe CVS is waiting for a reason

They’re having a bad week....


Access Denied

The link opens

I would not be surprised if the 470 interchange is relocated just south of the wastewater treatment facility.

The current site north east corner is blocked in by homes. The land south is wide open Villages property.

Essentially making 470 a straight shot to Okahumpka.

The existing interchange could continue to be used during construction.

Probably not but maybe something like this (food for thought)

Magnolia
 

Magnolia is still waiting for the golf cart crossing along Warm Springs over the turnpike. The dead end path still sits with a barricade.

Oh, you mean at the south bridge that will be replaced during Turnpike Expansion?

A bridge that will be required to have pedestrian access?

As Don Wiley says, the Villages does not build dead end streets.


We'll see...

Surveyors, utility marking and portapotties sprouted on the site today.

Looks like site prep is starting now.

There's a bunch of other ways to get to Magnolia from every direction. That path won't be open for at least 15 years or possibly never depending on what they eventually build but either way it won't be started for another 6 years at least. If the developer is responsible then it might take 10 years to do the bridge.

Everyone saw how the Waterlily bridge which was prefab offsite took longer to complete than the San Francisco Golden Gate bridge (4.5 years) from start to finish which was way over 100x longer than Waterlily.

I don't know anyone who is waiting for that. We use the Waterlily bridge. Easy peasy.

I guess ‘dead end’ is subjective. If you live on the end of a cul de sac, that would be a dead end. Or if your at the end of a street that backs up to a swamp, that’s probably a dead end as well. If the point is connectivity, the developer always seems to (eventually) make everyone whole.

Ok if no one else will....I'll call it. 300 miles a week. B.S.

50 miles a day would be a lot of cart time. Not impossible but it makes my butt hurt thinking about it.