[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by thevillages2013

The previous posts ARE WRONG. The exit gate arms are in the minority for being struck and knocked off by a long shot. Rarely have I ever seen an exit gate with the arm missing. Entry gates all the time

[DaleDivine]

Originally Posted by thevillages2013

The previous posts ARE WRONG. The exit gate arms are in the minority for being struck and knocked off by a long shot. Rarely have I ever seen an exit gate with the arm missing. Entry gates all the time

I agree, I've seen the exit gate at Pinellas Place to Morse knocked off a few times, but have seen the entrance gate broken several times.

[Laker14]

Originally Posted by vb993

So here we go again. What is the purpose of the gates. They don't prevent anyone from entering that knows the magic button. The guards just smile and wave everyone through. One argument is traffic control at the golf cart crossings. But what purpose do they serve at not golf car crossings. Besides, wouldn't a 4-way stop sign be just as effective. Some would argue that it is just a marketing ploy to imply that the Villages is a gated secure community as they ride potential gullible buyers around in the tour bus. The only benefit is that gates may act as a deterrent to stop those from entering that don't know the magic button option.

One useful purpose of the gates is to slow traffic down. This is especially useful and obvious when one is in a golf cart trying to get across a busy street near a roundabout. Without the gate arm coming down and staying down for a beat or two, it would get really dangerous to try to get across two lanes of cars coming into a village.
I get annoyed when the inside gate is left in the "up" position, and I'm trying to cross in my cart. It's hard to see around the gate house and shrubbery, and you really have to creep slowly to be sure you are safe.

Can you imagine how fast cars would go without the need to stop and wait for a gate to open? Golf carts as a significant source of travel in TV would be dangerous to the point of being impractical. A consequence of that would be doubling (or more) the number of cars on the streets. That would be a total snarl.

So, the lesson here is that "The gate is your friend".

I agree that the arms can be hard to see at times, and a simple improvement would be to put optic green reflective tape rather than the red. Also, many people should just slow the F*&# down.

[Primera199]

I thought maybe painting some gates neon!!

[Byte1]

Very simple process: If you come upon a little white building with a lane or two on each side, SLOW down and prepare to stop. It does not matter if you can see the gate from a distance, just slow down and come to a stop. After stopping at the building and still can't see the gate, then proceed with caution to the nearest eye testing facility and get examined for new glasses. Been here for almost ten years and have never come close to crashing a gate. And I wear glasses. Saying "I didn't see the gate" is a lame excuse for being oblivious to your surroundings. The gates are NOT camouflaged. If you can't see the gate, then either quit driving or get yourself a seeing eye dog that will warn you when you near an entrance/exit. On second thought, don't put your dog in this dangerous situation. Just stay home or hire a taxi.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

There’s an article in Golf Digest this month about Jupiter Island. Since COVID, 30 homes in Palm Beach have sold for more than $30 million. That is driving development north.
If you sell your house in the Villages, you might be able to pay the entrance fees for most of the country clubs between Palm Beach and Boca.

Funny, 2 years ago, you could buy 3-5K sq foot homes for well under $100/sq ft in those "Country Club Communities" in West Boca and West Palm...

The $70-$100K initiation fees, and the $50-$75K annual fees, and only 1-2 golf courses were enough for me to look elsewhere...

With all of the recent activity, I'd think they've rebounded, but I'm happy here...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

There’s an article in Golf Digest this month about Jupiter Island. Since COVID, 30 homes in Palm Beach have sold for more than $30 million. That is driving development north.
If you sell your house in the Villages, you might be able to pay the entrance fees for most of the country clubs between Palm Beach and Boca.

Well, Jupiter Island is home to many of the PGA players, who are building HUGE mansions with serious water frontage...

[nn0wheremann]

Originally Posted by bob47

That's a good idea. The other problem is that the exit gates don't all open at the same time. A perfect example is the exit gate at Cazaras Avenue onto El Camino Real. This gate doesn't open until a car is practically on top of it. If folks are used to approaching a gate at 5 mph and having it open when they reach it, they are in for a surprise at some gates.

It really shouldn't be that difficult to set them up so that you have a similar experience at all gates. Why set traps for people?

Also, the gates don’t close at the same rate. Some stand open, presumably to allow work trailers to pass under, encouraging motorists to go through without renewing the open-close cycle.

[swilkinson]

Attention Developer: Eliminate gate strikes this way:
Install a solar powered LED flashing light on every gate arm - problem solved.
Solution provided by Rapid Lean Coach your productivity and efficiency consultant.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by nn0wheremann

Also, the gates don’t close at the same rate. Some stand open, presumably to allow work trailers to pass under, encouraging motorists to go through without renewing the open-close cycle.

How does the gate know when a trailer is coming thru?

[DrHitch]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

....take the top 5 or 6 locations for gate strikes, and paint these arms bright yellow or orange, and then see if the number of strikes drops.

I suppose it's against some "rule" to add reflective tape to the arm at your own village entrance...sounds like being the gate replacement technician is a secure career?

[KYtoTV2021]

Originally Posted by DonH57

Probably a typo. Maybe they meant to say since January?

Ahhhh?? Does this really make sense to you?

[DonH57]

Originally Posted by Laker14

One useful purpose of the gates is to slow traffic down. This is especially useful and obvious when one is in a golf cart trying to get across a busy street near a roundabout. Without the gate arm coming down and staying down for a beat or two, it would get really dangerous to try to get across two lanes of cars coming into a village.
I get annoyed when the inside gate is left in the "up" position, and I'm trying to cross in my cart. It's hard to see around the gate house and shrubbery, and you really have to creep slowly to be sure you are safe.

Can you imagine how fast cars would go without the need to stop and wait for a gate to open? Golf carts as a significant source of travel in TV would be dangerous to the point of being impractical. A consequence of that would be doubling (or more) the number of cars on the streets. That would be a total snarl.

So, the lesson here is that "The gate is your friend".

I agree that the arms can be hard to see at times, and a simple improvement would be to put optic green reflective tape rather than the red. Also, many people should just slow the F*&# down.

The reason reason you state is correct, traffic control, required by the state of Florida. Some people think it's all about the Morse's.

[twoplanekid]

As we enter and leave gates at the same percentage (50%) of the time , I wonder why we don't need to use gate cards to leave?

District staff says that "The purpose of the gates is to get vehicles to stop and watch for golf carts, bicycles and pedestrians."

OK, but why the need of a gate card when going in one direction and not the other?

I am just trying to understand the rationale for the use of gate cards when using public roads.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

As we enter and leave gates at the same percentage (50%) of the time , I wonder why we don't need to use gate cards to leave?

District staff says that "The purpose of the gates is to get vehicles to stop and watch for golf carts, bicycles and pedestrians."

OK, but why the need of a gate card when going in one direction and not the other?

I am just trying to understand the rationale for the use of gate cards when using public roads.

Sure, that would also help control cart/bike traffic that is crossing, but you would have to move most exit gates to BEFORE the MMP crossing.