The whole conversation surrounding gated communities is interesting to me. There seem to be a lot of assumptions and people jumping to conclusions, comparisons to ‘big scary American cities’ and antisocial covenants for the super rich. I don’t know about this new island-based one, but I can provide some insights on gated communities . . .
My mom lives in one, just off the corner of Northmount Dr. and 14 St. NW. It was built in the late 80s/early 90s. The gate's original purpose was to keep churchgoers from parking along the street, as well as keep students from St Francis high school from parking there (which seems to becoming more of a concern with each passing year.)
I lived there for about a year in 2012, and from my own experience, the gate is nothing but a pain in the ass when you're expecting a package, waiting for a taxi, expecting company, etc. Many of the residents know this, and would prefer if there were no gate. However, as I mentioned, parking issues are a concern. I’ll touch on this more in a second.
I'm sure some residents feel as though there's something of a social cachet that comes with living in a gated community, but there are probably hundreds of communities that have their own prestige and alluring qualities that makes living there desirable. You pick and chose what you want. I know from my own observations, the majority of people living in that community are more concerned with its inner city location, access to transit, schools, etc. The gate just doesn’t seem like a factor.
In fact, the community my mom moved out of—Rosedale—was becoming more “######baggy” (haha, thanks, Gian-Carlo!) in the last decade: homes with humungous footprints, four-car garages, and ten-foot fences were popping up seemingly every day. The sense of community changed from what it was for the ~30 years my family lived there. Not necessarily changed for the worse—it’s all about perspective and what you’re after.
The gated community my mom is in now pays for all the maintenance of the roads, has private garbage collection, snow shovelling services, etc., which are quite exorbitant--especially when you factor in about half of of the residents are original owners, (i.e. seniors), not "super rich." Additionally, the road running through is really beginning to show its age. Replacing it will likely require a massive cash-call for the residents. Not to mention, driveways are in need of replacement, and concrete ain’t cheap . . .
There has been condo board-talk of removing the gate one day, apparently, but the issue of parking enforcement is a stickler. I know just today the gate was replaced for about the fourth time since my mom has lived there (six years.)
The people living there are just, y'know, normal people. Not people out to change the very social fabric of the city. Seems there's a bit of tilting at windmills going on with some of our councillors. (Hi, Druh. Hi, Gian-Carlo!)
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