During Wednesday’s Amenity Authority Committee Meeting, many residents voiced their concerns over a new attendant manning the Del Mar gate near Spanish Springs. Residents questioned the need for an attendant, claiming their role was largely to “push a button” and was actually slowing traffic down.
“I couldn’t understand why you have assigned someone to the gate to do nothing more than push a button,” said Vill ager Wayne Bryan. “All they’re doing is watching people…and pushing the button to let each car pass…It doesn’t accomplish anything.” The complaints spawned from long lines produced by the gate as a result of increased traffic. During events at Spanish Springs (like this past weekend’s craft show), the line of cars that forms frequently stretches from the gate to Avenida Central.
“I experienced the same thing that you experienced,” said District 3 representative and Chairman John Wilcox. “What I saw is that you have this huge line of traffic going back to the square, and you have an individual that was doing her job…She made sure that she put her stop sign out, let the gate come half way down, and then let the gate back up, while the traffic is backing up further and further.”
“Due to the fact that we have public roads, I thoroughly agree with you – I think it’s good to have a person there, but I don’t see the benefit in allowing the gate to go up and then come halfway down before they put it back up,” agreed Wilcox. Residents claimed that the hourly wages going towards this, among other gates, are a waste of amenities fees.
District Manager Janet Tutt indicated that the problem with having open access was that cars were not slowing down. Scott Wilder of Community Watch addressed the matter, indicating that there had been a variety of options tried at the gate.
“We do feel the need to control access through that point,” said Wilder of the gate. “It is a main exit point. When we open the gate up and just allow cars to go through there too quickly, it creates a traffic hazard on the other side of the gate – so we’re trying to be considerate of the residents.”
Other residents suggested the need for change on a larger scale, implying that The Villages was not in fact a gated community and these attendants were costing residents too much money..
“Everybody knows that anybody can come and use these public streets,” said one of the residents in attendance. “The fact that we’re pretending that it’s a gated community just galls me. We all know it’s not. There are gates everywhere, with attendants and to me, it’s camouflaging the real issue…I don’t see the point. Traffic would go a lot better without any gates or any attendants.”
