But how will Steve9930 from Stonecrest be able to get a license if it is administrated by the District?

Steve from Stonecrest does not need a license from the administration District. Since I do not drive my Golf Cart on your golf cart paths. Don't need to do so. Also the district may provide a sticker to its residents for its own purpose.

The state is the only one with authority to issue plates. Who else would issue a plate? The carts are on public roads just like any other vehicle. A little more revenue for the state would not hurt. The carts are using public roads so they can pay for some of the road maintenance via a license. Gets in my pocket book also. I don't have a problem with the idea. Maybe the state should also issue a special drivers license for Golf Carts used on public roads. This way it will improve safety by having to be tested just like driving a car or motorcycle.

Bad idea IMHO?... We do not need to go there. Already to much control being levied on us all. 99% of the drivers out there are fine!

What I have learned is when someone says why there isn't a problem you learn that there isn't problems immediately apparent to viewers.

The district issues resident identification and guest passes on a daily basis some folks here are trying to complicate the process. I believe it is an excellent idea to identify who are using private multi-modal pathways. I reject the fly by the pants philosophy expressed by some here. I suspect that those fulltime residents find a greater need than others.

This program does not need to cost that much can be merged with present programs in place now and I am not advocating any kind of vehicle registration just identification. In fact the Districts were remissed in not doing this at the outset. Rental carts by homeowner have the homeowner's ID and for public each rental cart has an assigned ID. There are many safety issue, emergency issues, etc that can be developed. I mean if you find something out of the ordinary and call for assistance and all you can say is its a black cart with black and gold sunbrella well you have narrowed it down to about 10,000 carts

Finally I am not heavily invested here but I do believe it should be explored at the district level to determine if it I workable and cost efficient. In other words don't dismiss it out of hand.

I got to go now my wife is calling me for breakfast

I think you nailed it. I don't like too much regulation, but some sort of tracking and identification could not hurt anything and I see possible helpful indicators.

A major part of the problem as I see it is that Community Watch has no policing power, and the Sheriffs and Police are bound by State, County and City ordinance. You would have to get some or all of these political entities to enact ordinances which then could be enforced. IMHO, there's a can of worms none of us really wants opened.

I am in favor of identifying golf carts for many reason-not only would it aid in determining which carts are doing something wrong or even illegal, but it would (as I believe Gracie brought up) also possibly help identify which grandparents are letting underage kids drive the carts. And if it is a motorized vehicle that drives on public roads, it should be governed. I think there are far more infractions than the 1% that was mentioned on here. On a daily basis, I see people breaking actual laws, and doing very, very unsafe things with the golf cart. I have seen more than 1 set of kids strapped in the cart in the place of the golf bags. One day a child will die from that. I have no problem paying towards the ID of the carts, and I also think it should be discussed for the Villages and residents to pay a fee to provide security guards-or whatever you want to call it-who do have some authority to monitor situations and manage them without having to depend on the police. I am sure that will go over like a lead balloon with some people on here, but I have also found that lots of time, the ones who protest will be the first people to need something.
Lastly, with the expansion of the Villages into areas that do not totally border the rest of the Villages-like Fruitland Park-that has all sorts of homes and trailers and communities that are between the Fruitland Villages and the rest of the Village area, there may be plenty areas where their golf carts find their way onto our golfcart paths. I can see it will be very important to be able to identify who should and should not be there. By the time we have build-out in TV, the pathways are going to be crowded enough.

JMHO.........

We have a more than adequate police force. There are no cart ID laws to enforce. The only private paths are the multi-modal paths like those along Morse and Buena Vista. The cart lanes on the other roads are on PUBLIC roads. Anybody can use them. Lets not make a mountain out of a molehill.

VT2TV has listed a number of excellent reasons why it is feasible.

Some believe that since community Watch has no policing power that it would be a waste. However, if this is true then all Community Watch does now is a waste. Is neighborhood watch a waste? Is a school crossing guard a waste? I think not. By placing some of those community watch people behind the steering wheels of carts vis a vis cars we have the same effect as neighborhood watch.

The multi-modal pathways are The Villages highways for golf carts, bicycles, pedestrians and they need to be watched so they can be managed better and infractions, dangerous situations, etc immediately reported. Again community watch is an extension of an existing program same as village ID's etc. Problems can be complex but solutions are simple if there is agreement and a willingness to listen

a feasibility study would be a good start

Putting some community watch in golf carts on the paths is an excellent idea. Sometimes just having presence is a deterrent, too.

Actually there is more of a twist to this issue. I was curious as to the ownership of the paths so I asked. Seems that the paths are owned and maintained by the CDD in which it is located. The funding comes from the CDD assesment (taxes) NOT amenity fees. So that makes them public property Just like any bike, walking etc. path in any other city. Open to ALL.

That is very interesting. So if that's the case then the Cart Gates would be illegal. This whole CDD animal is very interesting. How its funded and who benefits from the existence of the CDD.

I actually wondered about that but the CDD would have the right to end its paths anywhere they want and in a matter they chose as long as it is on there side of the "line"

To whom did you address that question? and exactly what question(s) did you pose? You said CDD taxes. If multi-modal pathways are public then taxes should have to be applied evenly throughout Sumter, Lake and Marion counties. This response seems incongruent and does not fit with villagers understanding of the nature of The Villages because it defines The Villages as a sort of hybrid which may not sit well with some residents.

I will await your reply

Personal Best Regards:

Fair question.

I contacted a VERY WELL respected official of the CDD through the district gov website. And seeing as i did not think to ask if I could repost her reply nor did she give permission I will paraphrase.

Simply I asked " who owns the multi model paths" The reply was that the cart paths on roadways are owned by the govt entity in which they are located (county roads) and The paths ARE owned by the CDD's (which are government entities). They are maintained through the assessments (taxes) each of the Districts levy on residents annually.

Hope that helps to clear things up

Well The Villages is sort of a Hybrid. Its not a Town or City, Its not a county, its has no authority to make laws, or authority to enforce them. Its a Political entity which is allowed to issue Tax Free Bonds, paid for by the residence, which the proceeds from built the transportation, sewage, and drainage infrastructure. It consist of several separate CDD Districts with board members who are supposed to be land owners of the community. Elected by the community. There are assessments which are levied on a particular CDD and then there are assessments which are levied on all CDD Districts. CDDs exist to allow developers to build while making others pay for the construction and others to get very wealthy easily with little risk to the developer. The Villages have made Gary Morse and his Family a very rich and powerful man.

Good!

Open to those that pay the assesment.

How is that homeowners association working over there in Stonecrest?

Actually that statement is only partially true. Village amenities such as pools and recreation facilities are closed to the public. Everything else is accessible. If I care to do so, I can run a Golf Cart just about anywhere I please. Don't care to because there is no reason to.

harry Gilbert: Perhaps I am a poor reader but what I interpret from the above-stated comments the cart paths you are talking about are the diamond lanes on roads such as Canal, and not the multi-modal paths on Buena Vista, adjacent to 466, etc I can understand that since Canal, etc belong to a county this would be so. it also is verified in that this is where people speeding in cart get their tickets vis a vis on multi-modal paths,

Am I confused???????????? I mean were talking apples an oranges here.

in paraphrasing I left out "multi modal" sorry. I went back and fixed my earlier post. From the email I received it was definitely 2 separate forms of paths, the roadways and the mm paths