[Elusive Enchantment]

I live in Summerlin where we pay into a gated community in our HOAs. When you drive into our subdivision you have a gate where you can key in or press a remote to summon the gates to open. Then you drive through. In this subdivision, we are also given a gate access code that will allow entry from outside sidewalks.

As of recent, I have noticed this pedestrian gate being left open for hours on end. Last night, I came home at 11:00 at night and noticed the pedestrian gate was left open. Maybe it doesn’t pose a problem during daylight hours, but it does at night. Doesn’t an open gate negate the whole sense of security and the meaning of a gated community?

Why pay into a gated community if you’re going to exploit the system and leave the gate open? What is the purpose of that? I was taught growing up that you leave things the way you found them. If you therefore open a door, you close it behind you. Is that hard? Essentially by leaving this pedestrian gate open, you are inviting problems and people who have no business being here.

I was thinking of contacting the homeowners association but I fear they’d brush it off. Should I tape a note to the gate? I think this is basic common sense and it’s unacceptable.

It also seems that our drive-thru gate is constantly malfunctioning or breaking. For half a week awhile back the outgoing gate was open entirely, all day. I don’t notice this being an issue across the street from us in other subdivisions.

[soclose]

Gates should still be manned or have cameras. All HOA really cares about is getting paid, making sure the trees are trimmed and giving you notices for leaving your trash bin out after 1 min.

[Princeton1990]

Originally Posted by Elusive Enchantment

I live in Summerlin where we pay into a gated community in our HOAs. When you drive into our subdivision you have a gate where you can key in or press a remote to summon the gates to open. Then you drive through. In this subdivision, we are also given a gate access code that will allow entry from outside sidewalks.

As of recent, I have noticed this pedestrian gate being left open for hours on end. Last night, I came home at 11:00 at night and noticed the pedestrian gate was left open. Maybe it doesn’t pose a problem during daylight hours, but it does at night. Doesn’t an open gate negate the whole sense of security and the meaning of a gated community?

Why pay into a gated community if you’re going to exploit the system and leave the gate open? What is the purpose of that? I was taught growing up that you leave things the way you found them. If you therefore open a door, you close it behind you. Is that hard? Essentially by leaving this pedestrian gate open, you are inviting problems and people who have no business being here.

I was thinking of contacting the homeowners association but I fear they’d brush it off. Should I tape a note to the gate? I think this is basic common sense and it’s unacceptable.

It also seems that our drive-thru gate is constantly malfunctioning or breaking. For half a week awhile back the outgoing gate was open entirely, all day. I don’t notice this being an issue across the street from us in other subdivisions.

As a fellow Summerlin resident who is very active in our HOA please call our association to report this matter. I assure you it will be dealt with promptly. Please DM me your specific subdivision and I will call as well. Thank you for taking an active role in our beautiful community.

[airics]

Originally Posted by soclose

Gates should still be manned or have cameras. All HOA really cares about is getting paid, making sure the trees are trimmed and giving you notices for leaving your trash bin out after 1 min.

And making sure that the cable from the satellite dish matches the color of the house

[IC_deLight]

Those gates are not "security gates" but at best "privacy gates" or "status symbol gates". In some places the restrictive covenants burdening your property might even expressly disavow that they are "security gates".

[WestieJeff]

Pretty sure any pedestrian can easily climb over the fence regardless if the gate is open or not. Can any person just open the gate from the inside or is it locked?

It's probably somebody's kids leaving it open. They don't care about it and nothing you can do will make them care.

Gated communities without a manned guard are merely an illusion of security.

[Cold Warrior]

Walk gates are typically locked from both sides.

[Elusive Enchantment]

Originally Posted by WestieJeff

Pretty sure any pedestrian can easily climb over the fence regardless if the gate is open or not. Can any person just open the gate from the inside or is it locked?

It's probably somebody's kids leaving it open. They don't care about it and nothing you can do will make them care.

Gated communities without a manned guard are merely an illusion of security.

You can open the pedestrian gate from the inside, to exit the subdivision and walk on the public sidewalks. If you close it it will lock from the outside. But you can just punch in the gate code from the outside to get back in.

[VonZimmer]

It really should be on a spring hinge so it self-closes.

OTOH, as others have said, it's merely an illusion of security so open or closed you are equally exposed.

No punk/thug with intent to do harm to you or your property will turn around and leave because the pedestrian gate is closed.
Likewise, no good citizen will suddenly become a thief because it's open.

Nonetheless, I do understand your frustration.

-von

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by Elusive Enchantment

You can open the pedestrian gate from the inside, to exit the subdivision and walk on the public sidewalks. If you close it it will lock from the outside. But you can just punch in the gate code from the outside to get back in.

This is pretty much an HOA matter. There are good pedestrian gates with strong closing mechanisms that minimize problems. So talk to the manager and a board member.

Recently I have also seen some of the manned gates go to a rolling patrol with the gate not manned. The argument that the gate guard patrolling in a vehicle is more effective than manning the gate.

I will agree that they do not provide much security...and actually manned gates do not either. Getting over a wall is not much of a challenge. They do however limit random traffic. So the streets are more quiet and peaceful and outsiders are more obvious.