A question for the more legally informed than I.

Seeing as these are county owned roads, Does an entity (developer, CDD or anyone else) have a legal right to A. Place a blockage on a county owned road and B. Have a legal recourse to sue for any damages to the blockage?

Ok.......the gate at the entrance to St. James was knocked down again sometimes this afternoon (1-21-16). I approached it about 11am, swiped the card, the gate comes up, I start through it and two guys in a cart that was sitting in the cross-space looked right at me and proceeded to pull right out in front of me. I locked the brakes and missed t-boning them by about a foot.

Are some people just born stupid (those that knock down gates/those that attempt to cause/cause accidents) or do they acquire that trait as soon as they enter the bubble?

Maybe not but there high percentage chance they are if they can't see gate with reflectors on it :wave:

What would the world be like without stupid:censored:IMO that's the main reason there are gates to stop traffic and give time for carts to cross. But, cart drivers have to wait till car clears the gate exit. I am very watchful for all carts! I think some don't realize they don't have the right way all the time? Another thing, I never criticize gas golf carts for not completely stopping at stop signs when I am not inline yet, due to the cart will die and have to be restarted and the centrifugal clutch engaged to get it moving again. But, that's me:police:

Is the other online news correct when stating that Community Watch says about 2,400 gate arms are knocked down every year at $200 a pop to repair?

I also hate to prematurely wear out my clutch.

[emoji848]

You break it, you bought it. Seems like a simple solution.

:agree:

If so, I hope TV carries "stupid driver gate destruction" insurance.

So. What do you propose as a solution?


Gates that cause damage to cars? No gates? Drivers schools for The Villages? More signs?


It is what it is. I think when the end of March comes, the gate breaking goes waaaaay down. It isn't the seasonal residents, it is the increase in traffic.

I believe it's a poor design and they needed to change gate vendors. a lot or the arms seem to break just from being constantly over torqued by stopping halfway in their swing because impatient drivers don't wait,as asked, for them to fully close.

The gates need to be light weight but they don't need to be round. They could even be made from the same material as square drainpipes. A hinge attached in the middle or a little closer to the island so would allow the gate go forward without breaking. In that position the motor that lifts and lowers the gate will be disengaged using a magnet switch or a a mercury switch.


When the person gets out of the cart and swings the gate back in place it will work as it did before. It can stay in place with magnets or Velcro.

I feel sometimes the gates get broken because there is an inconsistency in whether they are in a stationary up position or they are active and going up and down. Also there is an inconsistency in how long the gate arms stay up before coming down.

A guy on a bike zipped by me before I got my car through the gate so it started to come down with me in the middle. I stopped to see what would happen and not scratch my roof. It sensed my car and went back up. That was at Pinelles.

Tired
 

I, for one, am tired of people constantly bashing the older drivers on here! Hello. This is a RETIREMENT community (or supposed to be) and I know of nobody on this earth that is getting younger...and certainly not because they retire. Of course, many of the drivers here are old! Newsflash: Old ain't dead or useless.

The biggest problem I have seen with the gates is people being in such an all-fired hurry. Leave earlier! You can't spare the time it takes for a gate to close behind the car in front of you and then you open it? Why? I have people tailgating through some gate every single time I go out. And those who do notice that it is down and there is a stop sign? Forget it. Very few actually STOP.....they just blow right on through, "Oh good, the gate is down...saves me just that much more time." Zoom!! I have had people actually honk at me for stopping!:rant-rave:

There were also 5 non-street legal carts that ignored the No Carts Beyond sign and crossed CR103 Monday on the way to and from Walmart on Woodridge. They gotta be crazy. That is a horrible intersection for cars, nevermind golf carts.:loco: They don't have time to go over to the tunnel? Walmart's open 24-7 so what's the rush?

End of rant, but I feel better. Thanks.:wave:

Nope
 

They were probably that way wherever they came from. Moving here does not sweeten that kind's disposition.

[QUOTE=dillywho;1175772]I, for one, am tired of people constantly bashing the older drivers on here! Hello. This is a RETIREMENT community (or supposed to be) and I know of nobody on this earth that is getting younger...and certainly not because they retire. Of course, many of the drivers here are old! Newsflash: Old ain't dead or useless.





Driving is a perishable skill.

As a test, I would eliminate all gates arms at the four gates that allow access to the villages south of 466A between Buena Vista and Morse road. As most residents in these areas are newer villagers, they would not be as set in their ways as other residents. I think it is a pain to wait for a gate to open. What’s the purpose other than that’s how it’s done in the Villages?

As far as golf carts go, they seem to move right along at the entrances to Lake Sumter off of Morse and Buena Vista. Pictures can still be taken of all cars going through the open gates. Gate keepers can’t deny access to these areas as the roads are public. I would like to see no gate arms while driving to my house in The Village of Lake Deaton. Let’s try a change to see what happens.

Destruction of the gate arms......
 

I feel much safer knowing a car needs to stop if I'm crossing with a cart. Otherwise it would be an endless stream of cars and carts playing dodgeball. Cars will always win. I don't like those odds nor would I like being played a guinea pig to test my stubbornness.

I would like to look at the golf cart accident statistics for the golf cart crossings of Buena Vista at Old Mill and Morse at Lake Sumter. Is there a problem there with no gate arms? Maybe gate arms should be at all road intersections to help golf carts?

I do believe that gates are a marketing tool for the developer and thus probably will not be entirely eliminated.

Cool, a conspiracy theory. Start a new thread with that title. Sure to be a winah !

A neighbor told another neighbor who told my yardman that their yardman heard from one of his customers that she heard at Bunco that the Morses own the gate arm repair company.

" I think it is a pain to wait for a gate to open." Why the big hurry? Leave early to wherever you are going the pain will go away.
I travel those highlighted entrances...........both are dangerous, because people in carts are always in a hurry.
BTW you did see all the gates before you bought and moved to the villages, didn't you?

Or not eliminated at all.............................

Why change stuff? First twoplane wanted slower than twenty mph speed limits for carts ....

If gates are ever eliminated because of repair expense or any other excuse, then I would suggest they be replaced by a great big honkin' speed bump that would seriously rattle your chassis if negotiated at a speed greater than 4 mph. That should be sufficient to slow auto and truck traffic so that golf carts can safely cross the busiest of residential entrances.

Please read all of my post to find that I never proposed "slower than twenty mph speed limits for cars ...."

As golf carts are used on most roads in TV, why is there this concern with these gate crossings? Is there something special about these gate crossings and not others as I have questioned those at Late Sumter that don’t have gates to slow down cars? As the gates are not security gates, I don’t understand the need to force cars to stop. At all other road crossings in TV, golf cart wait their turn and then proceed. What is the importance at these particular road intersections for golf carts to make cars stop and not others?

Why change stuff? I am happy to see many things change and yet others remain the same. It depends ! If gates do or don't change will not make or break my day.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...its+golf+carts

Thanks for providing this link which verifies what I said!

That would be a great experiment. It sounds like it might work.

I remember some neighborhood back home that had gravel and potholes. The neighbors complained, the road got fixed and then they realized the cars were going too fast on the new surface to feel safe walking or playing on the street.

These two crossings are very different than the gated entrances to the villages. Removing the gates would be dangerous. Unless the suggestion is to also remove all landscaping, signs, gatehouses and all other items that obstruct the ability of a cart driver to see an oncoming car. The gates were designed to be what they are. You can't just change one part of the design and expect an improvement.

These two crossing are very busy as they lead to a popular place. In what other ways are they different? The entrance to Hillsborough off of Morse doesn’t have a guard shack. The two new entrances on Moyer Loop(Pine Hills & Pine Ridge) require golf carts to merge with car traffic well before the gates, don’t have guard shacks and yet they still have gate arms. What is the purpose for these gate arms?

I have concluded, right or wrong, some folks have too much time on their hands............................

An attorney's dream.

What??

HE SAID "AN ATTORNEY'S DREAM" lol