I have seen it busted at least 8 to 10 times. Until they construct a gate of steel, and not of aluminum, they will see this happen weekly. Saw it yesterday, the gate is no match for a golf cart.

When it was first put up I thought it was sturdier than that and after these gate strikes and thinking about all those hollow plastic columns they stick on the cart paths this is the result. Someone else originally stated in a previous thread if those were concrete people certainly wouldn't hit them twice. In today's society we have to protect the stupid. I hate to sound mean but that's the way it is. Too many treating a golf cart like a toy.

If it was a steel gate someone in a cart could be seriously hurt and maybe that is why the gate is built so "flimsy".

The cost of gates per year in TV must be a big dollar number. I do agree without some cart ID the camera will be useless. I'm sure most of the gate damages in TV are accidents---you wonder how many residents are honest and turn themselves in? A good question for the District Manager.

Isn't the Harmeswood gate just like the Paradise gate? How many folks are injured by that gate? I haven't ready of any accidents there. Is that gate solid or flimsy?

I ain't buying the news article's claim that this damage was caused by an out bound driver because no one who lives in TV is that much in a hurry to leave.

Unless....wait for it wait for it......it was a non-resident afraid of being caught for crossing over the border illegally.

Let's secure the border and build that wall and build it high

The problem with the wall was that it was more of a hinderance to Villages wanting to get to all of the businesses on that side by golf cart than it was a deterrent for outsiders to come in. I don't have statistics, but by my observation, which I admit is not much, there are more Villagers going to Lowes, Wal-Mart, Aldi, Beales etc than there are outsiders coming this way.

When the wall was built, my wife worked at Aldi (She has since changed jobs.) and she did not have a driver's license, (She has since gotten one). That meant that I was driving her to and from work four to five days a week, sometimes at 3:00 am.
Now you may say, "too bad, she chose to work there" and that's true. But, she chose to work there with the knowledge that the gate was open and she could get back and forth to work on a golf cart.
No, the wall is not the answer. I honestly believe that while there may be a few people from the outside sneaking onto our golf courses after hours, I don't think that the problem was so widespread that it necessitated inconveniencing the thousands of Villages residents who use that gate.
No, there is nothing in writing that says that we should have access to that area by golf cart. But it was very unfair, to people who have lived over here for 5-10-20-30 years, and had been using that gate for all that time, to have it taken away.
No, a wall is not the answer
I don't know if there's a camera there or not. I never noticed. But, if there is then it should be fairly easy to track down whoever is responsible for damaging the gate and make them pay for it.

Getting back to our regularly scheduled program........................

Actually, if it was damage by a Villages resident, (and there's a strong possibility that it was ) the they might be able to track the people down by looking at the video and tying it to the card that was used to open it. Unless, of course they didn't use their card at all.
But I would agree. Why not have a mandatory sticker on all Villages residents golf carts. In fact why not have a gate opening chip built right into something that is attached to the golf cart similar to a Sun Pass. That way we would haven't pull out our cards every time we come to a gate.

That's an excellent point. The Medical Gate, leading into the historic district is broken again. I've seen that broken far more often than the Lowes gate.

Easy for you to say, especially as you admit, you never use it. But people who have lived here for years having been using that gate. It's a part of their lifestyle. People have made life decisions based on the fact that they could access that area by golf cart. If a wall was up from day one it would be one thing, but to change something like this after 30 odd years will unfairly affect the lives of many people.

Love, love, love the idea of having some kind of BIG identification tag/whatever on all the carts using our multimodal pathways!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Well, this could of course could stir up another major problem. I am not trying to be unsympathetic, but times changes and things have to change along with it. It is not just the thousands from SC, and Spruce Creek that would be using our pathways, but if they are allowed to have access, everyone from 441 to 44 at least, in every direction will want access, especially Fruitland Park because of the developement in that area. Add to that all of the new residents from the still to be built areas, and our seasonal visitors, and our multimodal pathways will be unbearable. Thay would affect far more than the number of people who live near the gate and use it. Plus who is to say that one day soon, the owners of the land on the way to Aldi's will decide not to allow people to use their property to start with.





One other thing about the gate--I don't know who or what destroyed it, but if I were doing it to be mean because I wasn't allowed access to TV, I definitely would mess up the one that would look like a Villager had done it, to put the blame on them, and not SC or Sp Cr.

Install the Wall
 

Unfortunately this problem will not be solved with a gate where there is such significant criminal behavior. I saw the broken gate today and it was clear the serious damage could only be done by someone who was/is a criminal as if they were caught they would face criminal charges. Given this and the fact that it would appear there is no limit as to how much damage criminals could do to a gate it makes sense to reinstall the wall. I was originally against the wall and thought a gate would solve the concern but it is totally clear that emotions run so high that the only solution is a wall. I guess you could say Morse had it right the first time. Knowing this type of antisocial behavior is this bad in the area I would not feel comfortable living near the gate and would want to stop those who perform this vandalism from having any access near my home. :(

Really? Do you really think that there are "thousands" of outsiders coming through that gate? Do you have evidence to support that?

I don't have any evidence, but I really don't believe that the problem is that big. Making it less convenient for Villages doesn't seem, to me, to be an answer to what I believe is a rather small problem.

Remember Barney Fife? "You've got to nip it, nip it in the bud!"

I am being silly, but maybe we need to replace the gates at Paradise and Del Mar with a Bollard :)

Bollard crash test - YouTube