Originally Posted by jswirs (Post 1722545)

Hi folks, We have been here for 8 months now, and my comment / question is; The Villages calls themselves a gated community, which technically it is. However, anyone can come through the gates, either by pressing the red button in the residents lane or going through the visitor lane. A true gated community has resident stickers with bar codes on the vehicles which allows access. I understand that when the red button is pressed a picture of the vehicle is taken, don't know if that is really true, but that does not do much to add to security. Please don't misunderstand, I don't have a problem, it just seems to me that the gates, along with the guards, don't make this a true "gated community". Further, I question the need for the gates, guards and guard shacks since they do not seem to be making anything secure. What am I missing here?

Originally Posted by TerryElzin (Post 1722936)

I came from a so called gated community in MD. We had guards, we had stickers on our cars and we still had a lot of problems with people complaining about this same issue. If criminals want to get in they will. They do not have to go thru the gate to get to your home.

Originally Posted by waynehal55 (Post 1722855)

If you plan on going to someone's home, the owner MUST either call before the arrival or enter the information into an updated computer system. This applies to all businesses - if not done they will be denied entrance. This also applies to the back gate.

Originally Posted by KLBNJ (Post 1722929)

You have it all right. Well stated and correct. The gates are not necessary along with the guards. Both serve no purpose.

Originally Posted by Barborv (Post 1722955)

If you go 55places.com , The Villages it is advertised as a gated community. Everything everyone is saying I completely agree with. It would be nice if every residential area had a gate house with someone there. If not for anything, but as a deterrent. That's the only thing I wish TV had. The next best things, folks, is get yourself the blink cameras and ring doorbell and alarm for peace of mind. Yes, I'm a New Yorker! lol

Originally Posted by asianthree (Post 1722959)

No one needs to call ahead. When we come down from summer house, No one ever asks what we are doing. Our uhaul came in at 2am, pushed the button and opened gate. Since 07 I have never heard of access being denied.

Originally Posted by Barborv (Post 1722955)

If you go 55places.com , The Villages it is advertised as a gated community. Everything everyone is saying I completely agree with. It would be nice if every residential area had a gate house with someone there. If not for anything, but as a deterrent. That's the only thing I wish TV had. The next best things, folks, is get yourself the blink cameras and ring doorbell and alarm for peace of mind. Yes, I'm a New Yorker! lol

Originally Posted by biker1 (Post 1722559)

I have never seen any material from The Villages that claims this is a "gated community". It is a community with gates but the roads are all county roads with the exception of the roads in the CYVs. In a true "gated community", the roads are owned and maintained by the community, not the county. The gates in The Villages are primarily for traffic flow control where the MMPs cross in front of the entrances to the various Villages. Without the gates, golf carts would be in jeopardy.

Originally Posted by biker1 (Post 1722755)

While you might have spoken to someone over the intercom at the gate (which are all pretty much gone now), if the roads were county roads then they cannot deny you access.

Originally Posted by ColdNoMore (Post 1722757)

Probably when the roads were still private and before being sold to the county?

Neighbors who have been here for over 15 years, have told me that the original plan was to make each village a truly gated community, but when the infrastructure was sold to the county and thus became public...this was no longer legal.

Which makes sense, because who could imagine a gate on say 466...that you had to be a resident to use? :shrug:

Originally Posted by wirenail444 (Post 1722779)

Your are correct, it is not a true gated community. The roads are maintained by the county and access can not be denied. However, a picture is taken of every car that goes thru a gate and if there is a problem, the bad guy's car is available to the police. Next best thing and the bad guys know it.

Originally Posted by Tmcbryan (Post 1722789)

TV is a community with gates, not a gated community. The roads are owned maintained by the county, therefore driving on the roads is a public right.

Originally Posted by OhioBuckeye (Post 1722934)

Surprised nobody mentioned that the roads in TV are maintained by the county so TV can't tell anybody not to come in, their public roads & streets. The gate guards are their in hopes of if anybody comes in that they could remember things if something happened. Also a lot of younger people from Leesburg & Wildwood come here & some of the gate guards will take notice of that in case something get vandalized or robbed. Yea, it doesn't seem right but public streets mean just that, PUBLIC. I know someone will want to correct me on this, but some people really think our gates aren't worth the trouble. You could just call the front office & they probably could explain it to you in just about 5 mins.

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter (Post 1723019)