The CDD’s did that north of 44 after turned over to them

I have yet to see any grass infiltrating the asphalt!

The lack of ribbon burning and the degradation of the MMPs was brought up 2 or maybe 3 years ago when I was serving on the PWAC. I expressed my concerns over the long term stability and costs for maintaining them. I made the point that the lack of ribbon curbing was such a concern north of 44 for the roads in the PV and CYV communities that the individual CDD ended up funding the installations in these communities. I questioned why they were not included and could we mandate that they be installed going forward.

District staff said they would investigate and get back to us…
Two responses were received:
1. They examined the MMP and didn’t find any significant degradation except in one area around Bradford where heavy trucks had damaged the path and their was being repaired. - A complete load of BS, before I made my comments at the PWAC meeting I had already ridden down miles of the MMPs and seen dozens of locations where there was degradation and encroachment of the grass into the surface, I had also spent the evening of the Water Lilly bridge movement over the turnpike at the Water Lilly RC area and saw numerous areas were the walking paths had started to degrade after only a few months. This has been, is, and will continue to be an issue with the walking and MMPs south of 44. Eventually, these paths will either have to be resurfaced/rebuilt and/or ribbon curbing installed to stabilize them like they are north of 44. Either way it will come at considerable expense to the residents.
2. The ribbon curbing was eliminated as a cost savings measure. There are many more miles of walking and MMPs in the areas south of 44 than elsewhere in our community. This is due to the geography of the area and the large number of wetlands areas that were preserved resulting in longer paths and the addition of miles walking paths throughout the newer areas. It was a trade off, more paths or ribbon curbing. Had the ribbon curbing been installed it would have had a significant impact on the bonds that were issued for construction. (The bonds south of 44 are consistent with those north of 44 on a $/acre to developer, once you account for time and inflation over the many years, you cannot compare the raw numbers without looking at the rising cost/acre caused by inflation. But I’ve had this discussion several times here so no more rehash.). The walking and MMPs meet the “state standards”, I however argued that they didn’t meet the long established, but unwritten, “Villages Standards” for these paths, so the ribbon curbing isn’t mandated, and therefore not installed. A business decision, good short term but bad long term for the residents.

Because of the wetlands areas and grasses that abut the walking and MMPs the need for the stabilization provided by the ribbon curbing is needed more so in the areas south of 44 than they are needed in the existing areas north of 44.

There is a lot of validity to their side of the argument, however it comes down to pay-me-now-or-pay-me-later; well it looks like “now” is the long anticipated “later”.

As the MMP maintenance falls under the PWA as common infrastructure, all the residents south of 466 will eventually have to foot the bill for the PWF costs of repairs/upgrades. This was one of the many discussion points and reasons why PWAC2 was so favored by all the signatories of the PWA, well almost all. When the bill comes due for this, as it will eventually, all of us north of 44 must be sure to thank the board of CDD7 for their efforts in railroading the agreement with false and misguided intentions and not even taking the time to vote on the new agreement. Sorry for this side track, but it is a valid point that needed to be said.

The real question at hand needs to be will the CDD 12 & 13 boards and PWAC take the necessary actions now, to “fix” this issue now or will these paths be left to fester, rot, and decay until someone gets injured and they are forced to take decisive action to upgrade, at a much higher cost. Let your voices be heard now or let your wallet be hurt later.

In construction...

Continuing The Dream: Volume 15

Me too. I will ask her about it.

You said it. Unfortunately the Firm cheapened a lot south of 44: lot sizes, your MMP, shorter driveways, utilities in front yard, size of houses, narrower streets, etc.

Now this is interesting. Maybe the cement lining each side of the MMPs was stopped before getting south of 44? I really don't go very far in my golf cart; just stay around Mallory Square going to either Colony Rec Center and shopping there, Lake Miona Rec Center and then to Lake Sumter Landing. Actually, I have driven along 466 on the MMP too. All those paths do have the cement lining each side of the path so. Next time I'm riding on Morse or Buena Vista as a passenger in the car, I will look at the paths that run along those roads to see if they, in fact, do have the cement borders.

Sorry if it baffles you but I care about the appearance of all of The Villages, not just my area. The Villages has a reputation to live up to and the older villages is what made this place so popular. I just hope, as large and more populated this place gets, it will continue to have a great reputation.

I'm not a construction engineer but it seems to me that lining asphalt with a cement ribbon would cost more than just leaving the asphalt bare on the sides to be invaded by grass. No??? That is what I was referring to.

I haven't walked the path by Lake Miona yet but I'm looking forward to doing that now that the weather is cooler. I will weigh in on the width of the path after I actually walk it.

Next time my sister takes a ride on the paths south of 44 (usually on Sundays), I'll ask her to take photos of the grass invading the asphalt. Problem is, I still don't know how to post a photo on this site so I wont' be able to post the photos. I will, however, be able to see for myself what Sis is talking about.

This is how propaganda starts, someone told someone told someone and now it’s true.
Before posting you should have 1st hand knowledge.
The paths in the south are much more thought out and look better than the paths north of 44. Down south here, we have curbs when needed. We don’t have grass growing in our paths, and all of our paths are made for golf carts, not like the paths north of 466a. If you go head on to a path after crossing issuing a street where the gates are north of 466a, there is a harsh dip, which you don’t have down south. How about the accid by waiting to happen path north of 466 where the golf carts share the road with Morse? We don’t have that here, we are off the major roads. (Did the county vote yet to get rid of the Morse golf cart path yet?).

OMG......thank you so much for posting this. This rubberized surface is perfect for folks with arthritis, especially in the knees and ankles. Are the paths south of 44 made with this surface too? That is a wonderful addition to our area. I can't wait to take a walk. And.....there is cement ribbons lining the walking path by Lake Miona. GREAT!!!!!!

I'm very glad to hear this. I want all of The Villages to be the best it can be. Good to know it is not all the paths south of 44 that do not have the cement to protect the asphalt.

Why would they even build any paths without the protection of the concrete? That is truly a concern.

BINGO. Under the guides of "Everglades" or "Prairie" themes you see much less Villages touches of "Disney-like cuteness".
Take for instance the 301 entrance of DeLuna and compare it to up north. Bathroom tile on a tiny wall. South of 44 is The Villages "Developers" beginning to show clear signs of thinking no one is noticing the change in motivation. Don't get me wrong, the S of 44 bubble beats the lack of creativity elsewhere however, it IS a noticeable change in design.
??'s that make you go "hmmmm"...

Why is TV not forcing the developers or owners to open the theater in Brownwood? Lack of workers... give me a break. Comments saying Leesburg theater is great is ridiculous! TV "dream" has plenty of theaters. That's a selling point for over 55's. Covid was a great reason to close it... temporarily. Theater by golf cart. Fun for the grand kids yatta yatta.

And yes, the golf cart trails are going to fall apart as there are no curbs. Who pays then?

As The Villages grows to Clermont it will eventually be like any other 55 and older community. I'm sure the paths will become more and more diamond lanes with cars.

All good things crumble eventually. It is about the $$ and selling houses on stamp sized lots the further south they go.

3 generations ago it was all about "dreams come true" for over 55. Now it is basic rec centers and repeating designs of round-abouts. Plenty of golf for the future but even the courses are changing. Someone with more golf experience can elaborate on that but the new pitch and putt at Richmond looks awfully small. I think you get my gist.

Still, I love the bubble... just feel bad to see it changing from what it is on the north side of 44.

The one noticeable area (to me, since I ride it often) without a concrete ribbon is the stretch from the Brownwood Bridge to the bridge over the turnpike. The edges will recede with time and will have to be dealt with.

Not sure I agree with that statement. Different does not necessarily mean cheap. The newer developed areas south of SR-44 have many more miles of MMPs and walking/biking trails than the areas north of 44. The preservation of wetlands and preserves, along with the addition of miles and miles of trails was, in my opinion, a great feature to the southern villages. We meet people all the time who live north of SR-44 that come down south to enjoy the walking/biking trails. They don't seem to mind associating with us folks who live on "the wrong side of the tracks."

There must be issues with the grass invading the asphalt otherwise my sister would not have even mentioned it to me. She told me those paths look "awful" and she has no reason to lie about it.

My sister has seen it so you must not have been on the paths that sis has been on.

Goldwingnut......I can count on you to set the record straight. Thank you for this very informative post. It verifies what I have been saying in this thread but so much more accurately and affirmatively.

Is 19 posts on one thread a new record?

It’s not only the walking paths in the south, it’s the villa roadways in the north. Two different newer villas right of CR 42 have grass creeping into the roadways. I’ve complained but the answer was that is how they were designed.

Have you read Goldwingnut's long informative post? Most certainly, it is a cost effective way to build the paths without the cement ribbon. My original statement that the infrastructure is built "on the cheap" still stands. Goldwingnut explains the reason for it but it doesn't change the fact that those paths are less expensive to build without the cement ribbon protecting the asphalt.

Thank you for posting a photo. I wish I could do that. So, same thing with new construction in the north. This new generation is all about saving money.

That roadway will soon be cr*p unless Villagers pay for all of these repairs.

I would ignore the people who try to pull the subject off topic by pointing out how many posts someone has made. If you haven’t read the post from Goldwing Nut, go back and read the whole thing.

Villagers will be paying the freight for all repairs to inadequate mmp installations. It’s that simple and the damaged mmps will be ugly until the proper repairs are made.

yup!

EXACTLY! I'd say at least 50% of the owners down here South of 44 sold their homes North of 44 to move down. Has anyone EVER heard of a person who sold their home South of 44 to move North of 44?? I didn't think so.......

Did it occur to you that your “area” isn’t being trashed but that a feature of your area is being highlighted as a potential problem because it was installed improperly as Goldwing Nut pointed out?

Let me clarify one point, the walking and MMPs are of quality design and construction, they were not done “on the cheap” or substandard and will last for many years. They meet all state construction standards. Could they have been built better by using the ribbon curbing, absolutely. The fact is that in the subtropical Florida climate that we live in, thing grow very fast, especially grass and weeds, and they will attempt to overcome anything that is an obstacle before them.

Budgets are real, epically in the construction world, if the standards meet the budget but the upgrades do not, the upgraded (ribbon curbs) don’t happen. It’s not an attempt to cheat the residents, in this case it’s a matter of both budget and the massive size of the area south of 44 being developed that make them cost prohibitive.

its all about the money money money money money money money ....... That is it

And yet another PWAC success story.
- no curbing
- removal of amenity fee top stop
- water and wind tower replacement
- Sumter bridge erosion shore up

Keep those wallets open folks

Maybe a lot of Villagers like the roadways being crap.

When we lived in Fairfax County VA, there was one road with a lot of potholes and rough spots. The county government was going to have the road repaired, but the residents were very against it. The crappy road was making the cars drive slower, which they liked.

Yes, we live north of SR-44 and we love the walking trails in the Southern Area. Our favorites are the one in Hawkins that goes along the marsh and the new one in DeLuna, which we walked yesterday.

You can add replacement of under-road drainage system in Soulliere.

Don't kid yourself about the "rural setting" excuse. They didn't install the concrete ribbon on those golf cart paths because it would save lots of money. Without that ribbon those paths will not hold up over time. Sometime down the road they will have to fix them.

The cement ribbons absolutely help keep the asphalt together. I used to live in a town that had a lot of road with no curbing and the asphalt starts to break away at the edges. In this climate, with plants growing 11 months out of the the year versus 3 months, this could be an issue and will be in future. I have no problem with people making money. There would be no businesses without profit and the products we want would not exist without it. There are a great many issues south of 44 that do not attract me to buy there but from what I have heard, the bonds are sky high. Admittedly, I have not done the math, but a lot of unbuildable land means higher bonds I assume.

Whole lot of assumptions…………

Yes

The lot sizes are about the same. The newer homes south of 44 have shorter driveways because people wanted bigger back yards. They didn't want the "kissing lanais". They simply moved the houses closer to the street to accommodate that request...