Comparing a 4 year old child and a village gate - seriously? This thread has got too weird and argumentative - signing off.

You raise a fair point. And I think most of us would agree that if you are responsible for the well being of a 4 year old, they shouldn't be running around unsupervised anywhere near where they might be struck by a car.
Also, were I responsible for a 4 year old, or a dog, or my own person, walking along the roadway in a low-light or setting sun situation, I would be using some sort of Optic-Green high visibility reflective garment to make myself, my dog, or my grandie as visible as possible.
We see this all of the time along the roads and MMPs among bicyclists, and runners, and walkers. Sometimes in the gloaming we come across someone NOT wearing this type of high visibility garment and they suddenly pop out of the mottled shade/sun lighting along the road or MMP and we think "what an idiot. They're going to get hit and blame the driver".
That seems simple to me.

And, before someone suggests it to me, I don't want to go to a meeting of any sort and try to convince lawmakers that all of this should be mandatory. It's just common sense. I'll take care of myself, and keep my eyes peeled for those who wish to tempt the fates.

YES, SERIOUSLY. What part of the analogy comparing a small child and a small gate arm as far as visibility and knowledge of their presence goes is "weird and argumentative"?. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

If the small child was strapped to the gate arm it would be much easier to see.

And hit?????

If there were no gate arms, the golf carts would have a hard time getting through or get hit.

Making the gates more visible won't hurt anyone and may help others. No big deal.

And pedestrians would have to have epic track and field skills!:1rotfl:

Or be exceptional at playing "Frogger"...

I want transparent gate arms. Take them all down to accomplish that. Get rid of the landscaping blocking the view of cross traffic. Save lots of money.

As Mick Jagger sang:

And no, you can't always get what you want
No, you can't always get what you want
Well, no, you can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need

If the actual total spent annually on these gates (we think of them as vanity icons so we villagers can impress family and guests that we live in a "private country club" community....LOL ! It would be interesting to tabulate and compare, any differences in accidents, etc. on the days when all gate arms are removed. For instance, sometimes for multiple days in a row due to hurricane threats. Are MORE people hit on the days there are no gate arms ? More golf carts hit ? More auto accidents ? Who knows, we may be able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars to just do away with the "illusion" of how exclusive it is here ? Is there a point to having traffic backed up to 466 just to turn onto Belvidere near the library or high school ? Might me worth studying, but think the idea has always been more to sell the illusion of a private community ?

The gate arms do more than just create an illusion (although I doubt the developer and its sales team do little to dissuade potential buyers from believing in the illusion), in that they create a visible and predictable break in traffic, in between each automobile, to facilitate golf cart crossings at those intersections.

When an automobile slows down for a stop sign, you can't be sure it will actually STOP, but when that gate arm comes down, or is down, you know the car is not going to keep rolling through it. (Well, that's the idea anyway, and it works 99.999% of the time).

I use my golf cart a lot for transportation, and I appreciate the presence of the gates when they are up and functioning. When I come to a gate that is out of commission, for whatever reason, it takes a bit more time and eye contact between cart and automobile to negotiate the dance.

I suspect that as TV has grown, and distances have lengthened within the bounds of it, a higher percentage of trips are taken by automobile than was the case 20 years ago. My sense of things is that car drivers find the gates more of a nuisance, and are less appreciative of the service they provide, and hence, since more folks are driving cars now than 20 years ago, there is less of an understanding and appreciation for why they exist.

Especially if the sun is hitting it just right

[QUOTE=Laker14;2258726]The gate arms do more than just create an illusion (although I doubt the developer and its sales team do little to dissuade potential buyers from believing in the illusion), that they create a visible and predictable break in traffic, in between each automobile, to facilitate golf cart crossings at those intersections.


True for entrance gates but not exit gates. Exit gates have a time delay and typically do not come down after every car when there is a line of cars passing through.

I would hope the quarterly flower plantings would go before the gates in any cost cutting measures. At least they get some income from the gate strikers.

The Belvedere Gate is about 1500 feet from 466. Is the gate really causing the backups or is it school drop-offs and pick-ups ? Can the problem be vehicles using Belvedere as a shortcut to Buena Vista ? That's where traffic studies come in.

[QUOTE=bob47;2258795]Coming north on the BV MMP, at the St. Charles gate, during the busy times traffic heading out the exit gates can get a tad backed up. While the gate arm may not come all the way down in between each car, it does slow and sometimes stop the traffic exiting, which makes a convenient opportunity for a nice soul to wave a few carts through before proceeding.
Yes, yes...I know, cars are not "supposed to" wave carts through, but when the automobile traffic is continuous, and the golf carts are backed up in a long line, it is not inappropriate for a car to break that rule and let a few carts go through. Otherwise we'd miss happy hour.

Im not sure what happened with that gate, but my guess is whoever designed that whole part of the development dropped the ball when calculating how much traffic that intersection would get, due to all of the homes that need to use it to get in and out.