Back in the late summer the Creekers met and decided to pave our access road. It had once been maintained by the County but about ten years ago they decided the last half mile or so was not theirs and abandoned it to its fate. Several of us appealed the abandonment, pointing out that the road had been regularly plowed during the winter and the local school bus used it when there were schoolkids to be hauled. “Nope” they said “If we did that it was a mistake, it’s not ours and we don’t want it”. The road had never really been paved, it was made by spraying tar and rolling fine gravel into the surface repeatedly over the years and twenty years of unmaintained use had almost destroyed the lot.
We got some estimates from several local paving outfits and decided on who would do the job. Not a cheap process building roads, they all proposed stripping the surface completely and relaying the lot in two three inch layers of hot rolled tarmacadam.
Then a long debate ensued. How much should each property owner pay? Each property has road frontage of varying measure and the first proposal was to charge on the basis of frontage, I was OK with that. A second proposal was then made to charge on the basis of usage (those properties at the end of the road should pay more than those at the start of the road (fair disclosure, I am almost at the end of the road and my rich neighbor is at the VERY end of the road so we would be paying the most). My rich neighbor said she did not care which method was used she would pay whatever she was assessed and I concurred. Then a homeowner at the beginning of the road suggested that his life was already too complicated and he proposed that everyone should contribute equally, everyone instantly agreed and that’s how we did it.
My rich neighbor decided this Christmas to make a gift to the Creek and has had made and erected a sign at the head of the road.
That’s the Bakkie off on the left in its winter garb. The mailboxes in the background are as far as the mail lady comes and the serious hill starts right after. My first response to her was “what is this, The Club Med?” Her response was that the road is private and we should make that clear to the uninformed, ( her language was a little more direct than that and may have contained words such as “lowlifes” “illegals” and “feral scum”), I got the message.
I am of two minds about the sign, what is the intent? To keep people out? If so it is hardly more discouragement than no sign at all. If we are attacked by some marauding band of felons I am comfortable that the existence on the creek of more firepower than many smaller counties will pull us through, perhaps with a few minor casualties. It seems to be more about the signer than the signee if you get my drift. A demonstration more of the insecurity of the one erecting than deterrence of the one observing. It’s been there a few days now and maybe I will just get used to it, but not yet.
Boadicea's Chariot 
By labelling it as a Private Road you should avoid people getting lost and thinking it’s their route to somewhere or other. Makes life easier for everyone, I think.
Your post reminds me of lift maintenance in flats (or tenements elsewhwere ;))
Should those on the top floor pay a higher levy then those perhaps on the 2nd and what about those on the ground or 1st floor who perhaps don’t use the lift at all?
I think that it would blend in quite perfectly and help reinforce your neighbours message!
Just a thought 🙂
(Love the bakkie ;))
Morning LW. I think I am with you. Unless, there was a stream of vehicles using the road, I would not feel the need to erect a sign. In my view it sends out a negative signal, even to bona fide visitors. But I am sure you will get used to it.
Oh, I don’t think I agree – it’s rather a nice sign, making a quiet statement of exclusivity. Far better than the usual sign that warns, “trespassers will be shot”, surely?
Your comment, Soutie, reminds me of a frequent dispute in blocks of flats in France. Frequently there are doctors, dentists and other professionals with consulting rooms on various floors. The residents usually complain, once a year at the Syndic meeting, that they are paying for the clients of these people to use the lift and that therefore those earning their living in the block should be paying more.
Thanks for your views. I think my feelings may have been different if the sign had been there when I bought the property, but this little community has been here for thirty years without the sign. The “strangers” on the road have always been few and in these days of GPS (Satnav) have become even fewer.
Soutie: Next step after the “Sentry Box” may be this.
SatNavs are not always infallible, LW. Just recently there was an incident in an old town (in East Anglia I think) where a foreign HGV, with the driver relying entirely on SatNav instead of brain power, managed to cause a lot of damage to the beautiful old properties with overhanging upper storeys. Of course once he had driven into the street, it was very difficult to get him and his enormous lorry out.
Sheona: I have had a similar experience in the UK, I was trying to visit an old friend and relying only on the SatNav was directed via a road that abruptly ended in a new reservoir, there on the other side I could see the road emerging from the water and a few turns further was his house. An hour, and twenty miles later I was there. For the first ten miles the SatNav’s best advice was to make a legal U-turn as soon as possible. Even before GPS things occasionally went a bit pear shaped,. Do you remember OMG’s account of leading an army convoy with a tank transporter into a tiny town in Deepest Devon? “The mighty Antar” I think he called it, a funny one.
I lived on a private road, without a sign for a number of years. It didn’t go anywhere, but it was full of pot-holes. We liked it like that, it stopped idiots speeding. We did feel obliged to do something when the milk float disappeared into a huge hole in front of our house one morning. We just shovelled in some hardcore and rocks and carried on.
The local authority was always muttering about doing something but the cost was exorbitant, and based on frontage. We protested and it all went away!
Ara: You should have removed the milk float first, but leaving it probably did save some hardcore. The best “offer” we had from the county was if we brought it up to “2010 Standard” at our expense they would consider re-adopting maintenance of the road.
Their standard was an eighteen feet wide road (currently 12) with three foot shoulders (currently zero) each side and a circular turning place at the end (about a quarter acre of my neighbour’s property to make that) . We declined.
Oh, we did actually drag the milk float plus traumatised milkman out of large hole first. Actually quite amazed that the Express Dairy didn’t sue. Then of course we had the battle of the fractured water main. We won, which was also surprising.
Well LW I think it is an obviously very expensive sign that makes it pretty bloody obvious that the hoi polloi are not welcome.
It also advertises that there is money to burn down the street somewhere and is a direct invitation for robbery. I would have that removed so damned quickly it wasn’t true, a dark night and a chain saw!
There is a great deal of safety in anonymity. Fire power is not too useful when you are out boating or in town.
Equally I do not think she should have put it up without permission from all the other residents, bad manners.
Mrs. O. That’s kind of where I finish up. No sign, no discouragement, but no encouragement either, just a dark road and a steep hill. Fortunately such signs are not that uncommon around the place and once it weathers down a bit it may not be so inviting. They also come in for their share of abuse like the mailboxes, including being pulled up and away by kids in pickup trucks, maybe it will take care of itself.