[Happy Villager 1]

The May 2012 issue of "The Villages Voice", the VHA paper was delivered in todays Daily Sun. On Page 3 is the section where issues and questions from the residents to their VHA representatives are discussed with The Villages and District Government Officials quarterly in a Town Hall Meeting format. One of the questions was "What can be done to prevent bikers and walkers who are not Village residents from using the multi-modal paths?" The response is "Multi modal paths are public paths just like the roads in The Villages. Public access can not be denied."
What's up with that? If they are public paths then why are our amenities fees the only funding source? We love the lifestyle here but sure resent having been duped.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Happy Villager 1

The May 2012 issue of "The Villages Voice", the VHA paper was delivered in todays Daily Sun. On Page 3 is the section where issues and questions from the residents to their VHA representatives are discussed with The Villages and District Government Officials quarterly in a Town Hall Meeting format. One of the questions was "What can be done to prevent bikers and walkers who are not Village residents from using the multi-modal paths?" The response is "Multi modal paths are public paths just like the roads in The Villages. Public access can not be denied."
What's up with that? If they are public paths then why are our amenities fees the only funding source? We love the lifestyle here but sure resent having been duped.

How would anyone know if a biker or a walker was not a Villgage resident or guest??

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

How would anyone know if a biker or a walker was not a Villgage resident or guest??

Well, you remember when you got your Villages ID card and they implanted the microchip in your neck, don't you? Perhaps they could have a chip reader posted at different parts of the Multi-Modal trails and if it did not detect your implanted micro-chip, an alarm would sound for the Trail Guards to either arrest you or just beat you with their clubs.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by buggyone

Well, you remember when you got your Villages ID card and they implanted the microchip in your neck, don't you? Perhaps they could have a chip reader posted at different parts of the Multi-Modal trails and if it did not detect your implanted micro-chip, an alarm would sound for the Trail Guards to either arrest you or just beat you with their clubs.

[Mikeod]

I think the wording of the response was unfortunate. I think the intent was, as Bogie stated, that it is not possible to screen all people using the multi-modal paths, and certainly not cost effective to try.

But duped, really???

[BarryRX]

Originally Posted by Happy Villager 1

The May 2012 issue of "The Villages Voice", the VHA paper was delivered in todays Daily Sun. On Page 3 is the section where issues and questions from the residents to their VHA representatives are discussed with The Villages and District Government Officials quarterly in a Town Hall Meeting format. One of the questions was "What can be done to prevent bikers and walkers who are not Village residents from using the multi-modal paths?" The response is "Multi modal paths are public paths just like the roads in The Villages. Public access can not be denied."
What's up with that? If they are public paths then why are our amenities fees the only funding source? We love the lifestyle here but sure resent having been duped.

Perhaps the answer is as simple as this....when I go to visit friends in New York, we often will go to a local park. Their tax dollars pay for that park yet I get to enjoy it. I walk on their sidewalks and drive on their local roads without paying for any of the upkeep. It sounds like that is the same thing that happens here, but in reverse. Also, it has been my personal observation that passage on the intermodals has never been hindered by too many walkers or bikers. Perhaps others who travel the intermodals at different times of the day may have a different observation.

[NotGolfer]

Originally Posted by BarryRX

Perhaps the answer is as simple as this....when I go to visit friends in New York, we often will go to a local park. Their tax dollars pay for that park yet I get to enjoy it. I walk on their sidewalks and drive on their local roads without paying for any of the upkeep. It sounds like that is the same thing that happens here, but in reverse. Also, it has been my personal observation that passage on the intermodals has never been hindered by too many walkers or bikers. Perhaps others who travel the intermodals at different times of the day may have a different observation.

What about the roads that traverse through our states and communities. Somebody pays taxes on those but they're open to others w/o recompense. I think there is noone being duped!

[Indydealmaker]

I wonder if this is the result of a common communication gap. Maybe the person who answered was thinking in terms of the cart lane on the street.

The "public" streets are maintained by the county, but the "public" multi-modal paths are maintained by the homeowners. Curious. Maybe this was a concession granted by the developer somewhere along the way. At any rate, homeowners, who are taxpayers, are still paying one way or the other. However, this really should be more clearly explained to prospective home buyers as part of a complete orientation.

[Happy Villager 1]

I was looking at it more in the context of outsiders using the paths with their golf carts and not just the walkers or bikers. It appears things are slowly being changed that used to be thought of as a benefit to being a village resident. If anyone can use the multimodel paths with their golf cart how is that an advantage to being a villager? Has anybody noticed how the tickets sold for shows at the Savannah Center used to be on sale first for villagers and then opened up to the general public. Not anymore....first come first served. There was a play that was going to be put on at Mulberry that was advertised as being open to nonresidents. Neighborhood Watch "use to" do a good job at writing up homes that weren't in compliance with community standards. Do they even do that anymore? How many people moved here thinking it was a truly gated community? I must give credit to the salesperson we had because she was honest with us about that but I have met many people that didn't know. We honestly fell for the claim we were moving to a retirement community and it has turned out to be a tourist city. At least in Stone Crest they have a rule where homes cannot be rented for less than three months at a time.

Yes I feel the word duped fits.

[Whalen]

Originally Posted by Happy Villager 1

The May 2012 issue of "The Villages Voice", the VHA paper was delivered in todays Daily Sun. On Page 3 is the section where issues and questions from the residents to their VHA representatives are discussed with The Villages and District Government Officials quarterly in a Town Hall Meeting format. One of the questions was "What can be done to prevent bikers and walkers who are not Village residents from using the multi-modal paths?" The response is "Multi modal paths are public paths just like the roads in The Villages. Public access can not be denied."
What's up with that? If they are public paths then why are our amenities fees the only funding source? We love the lifestyle here but sure resent having been duped.

OK, Now I am confused...if the multi modal paths are public, as stated, how come they can not be policed for traffic infringements, like speeding, passing???
Where I come from you can't have it both ways...

[Mikeod]

Originally Posted by Whalen

OK, Now I am confused...if the multi modal paths are public, as stated, how come they can not be policed for traffic infringements, like speeding, passing???
Where I come from you can't have it both ways...

That's why I think the wording was unfortunate. The paths aren't public as the streets are. But they are available to public use because it is not worth the trouble to either make them gated or police them to check for Villages IDs.

[ijusluvit]

Originally Posted by mikeod

That's why I think the wording was unfortunate. The paths aren't public as the streets are. But they are available to public use because it is not worth the trouble to either make them gated or police them to check for Villages IDs.

Not to beat a dead horse, but there is a consistency issue here. The multi-modal paths are not public. Neither are the executive golf courses. A year or two ago, supervision was added in the late hours of the day on exec courses because non-residents were using the courses in those hours. ID checks at rec centers and pools are more common than they were some years ago. So, regardless of how much enforcement is provided at present, should the use of multi-modal paths by non residents be addressed or not? In recent years, entrances to the paths, in Chatham and adjacent to the Belmont exec. course for example, have been added, giving non-residents easy access. When the path next to Lowes is paved, Stonecrest residents will have direct cart access to The Villages. Maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe it does.

For those who think the paths cannot be controlled, I think a study would show there are relatively few places a cart can enter from outside TV. Those points could be gated, opened only with a resident card. Non-residents would have no legitimate argument about the path gates, as they do about those on public roadways.

[GaryW]

Originally Posted by BarryRX

Perhaps the answer is as simple as this....when I go to visit friends in New York, we often will go to a local park. Their tax dollars pay for that park yet I get to enjoy it. I walk on their sidewalks and drive on their local roads without paying for any of the upkeep. It sounds like that is the same thing that happens here, but in reverse. Also, it has been my personal observation that passage on the intermodals has never been hindered by too many walkers or bikers. Perhaps others who travel the intermodals at different times of the day may have a different observation.

[GaryW]

Originally Posted by Whalen

OK, Now I am confused...if the multi modal paths are public, as stated, how come they can not be policed for traffic infringements, like speeding, passing???
Where I come from you can't have it both ways...

I was thinking the same,, SCSO will tell you they are private property. They can not enforce violations on them because of that. But I do not see a sign anywhere where it states you are entering private property and so on..........

[Golfer in Sanibel]

Originally Posted by Happy Villager 1

I was looking at it more in the context of outsiders using the paths with their golf carts and not just the walkers or bikers. It appears things are slowly being changed that used to be thought of as a benefit to being a village resident. If anyone can use the multimodel paths with their golf cart how is that an advantage to being a villager? Has anybody noticed how the tickets sold for shows at the Savannah Center used to be on sale first for villagers and then opened up to the general public. Not anymore....first come first served. There was a play that was going to be put on at Mulberry that was advertised as being open to nonresidents. Neighborhood Watch "use to" do a good job at writing up homes that weren't in compliance with community standards. Do they even do that anymore? How many people moved here thinking it was a truly gated community? I must give credit to the salesperson we had because she was honest with us about that but I have met many people that didn't know. We honestly fell for the claim we were moving to a retirement community and it has turned out to be a tourist city. At least in Stone Crest they have a rule where homes cannot be rented for less than three months at a time.

Yes I feel the word duped fits.

I'm sorry to disagree. I think you are blowing this way out of proportion. With 89,000 Villagers, where do you think the vast majority of multi-modal path users live? And where do you think the golf carts come from that are not used by Villagers on the paths. Please rethink your concerns and if you still think this is a problem worth stressing over then maybe sign up for some dance lessons. There is so much to do here without stressing over imaginary issues. Be Happy, Happy.