Planning on creating a gatted community served by a shortline with a depot and a main drive entering the community. There will be a fence with several gates around the perimeter. The community would be about 20 miles from other communities. Would the post office pick up and deliver to such a community and how served? A mailbox outside the gate for the mail carrier to service? How about Fedex & UPS service? A dropbox or would a security guard be employed? Or would it matter in N-scale?
The postal service would generally be allowed inside the gates to service the community's mailboxes.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
I wonder if more recently built gated communities have curbside mail boxes for each home, or if they have to use clustered mail box units for each group of home?
Lakeside,Ohio is a gated private community and they charge a gate fee.
IIRC Lakeside covers one square mile.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I have a friend that works as a gate guard at a gated community in Houston and he lets the mail man in every day who puts the mail in the boxes that are located near the guard house.
If it's 20 miles from the nearest community, it would be served by a rural mail carrier (which I was for a short time). As has been mentioned, most likely the gatekeeper would just let the carrier in and out as a practical matter (not to mention jurisdictional - federal vs. state/local). If you're paying that much extra to live in a gated community, you'd probably want the mail delivered right to your mailbox in front of your house. (BTW delivery would be by vehicle, not by foot, so it wouldn't be put through a slot in the house door).
It's certainly possible there could be a lockbox (essentially several mailboxes together at one place) to serve the entire community if it wasn't too big. It might be near the gate so the gatekeeper could keep an eye on it. Mobilehome parks are often that way, and even some well-to-do suburbs have lock boxes instead of separate boxes for each house.
Of course, I have to ask...if it's 20 miles from the nearest town, why do they need the gates and fences?? I think gated communities are normally areas within existing city or suburban areas, with the gates meant to separate the area from the rest of the surrounding residents.
It is 20 miles from town to allow the use of telescopes in the village. Science nerds! No lightpoles. Instead of fences/gates, a group of dobermans or similar could be employed. Unknown people good be skulking about, but don't know how often that happens. The abandoned rail line would have boxcars & cabooses & the depot converted to visitor hotel spaces. Not really a model railroad but more of a diorama. It'll have lights, sounds, and music from small speakers inside the buildings. Have an unused IPod.
Have 20 engines & 330 N-scale cars to make a yard or similar but the tiny apartment won't make it so.
The Lakeside, Ohio community mentioned above is a bit odd, it's a 'Chautauqua' community, chautauqua being a whole education movement that arose during the late 19th century. From the Lakeside Ohio website, seems the place acts almost as a retreat resort, rather than a early 21st century gated community that the OP seems interested in modeling.
wjstixIt's certainly possible there could be a lockbox (essentially several mailboxes together at one place) to serve the entire community if it wasn't too big.
Of course, I have to ask...if it's 20 miles from the nearest town, why do they need the gates and fences?
Even in N-scale, I think the OP won't be able to fit in a golf course.
The mailboxes are usually all together in a group inside of the gate. Most gated communities have gates which open automatically via garage door opener type remotes or a keypad with an intercom. They also have an override so that police, paramedic and fire trucks can enter without much delay. I used to deliver newspapers to gated communities. I would have my own entry code or use the override. The mail goes to central boxes but newspapers get delivered to each individual residence. Packages sent via the post office go in a larger box next to the mailboxes and the key to it goes in the mailbox of the recipient. Packages from other delivery services go to the residence.
chutton01I wonder if more recently built gated communities have curbside mail boxes for each home, or if they have to use clustered mail box units for each group of home?
Every gated community I have been in has an individual mailbox for each house, if they are single family homes.
Gated appartment complexes or high-denisity condomimiums have cluster mailboxes.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
In all the gated communities of townhomes we built, there are 'post office' locations containing mailboxes, often in more than one location if the complex is large or was built in 'phases'. The USPS has a pass or code to enter the property, and is responsible for the security and integrity of the individual boxes, placement of notices and mail therein, and 'redelivering' mail if a notice of 'nondelivery' has been signed and returned.
It is usual for property managers to handle parcels and deliveries for residents. Here the package delivery drivers have codes assigned to them; on our properties these were specific to particular 'agencies' and entering them would activate a security alert and camera so a resident manager could check even a distant gate to confirm vehicle, driver uniform, etc.
I have seen properties that put the 'mailboxes' outside the gates, and the Post Office services them there. I have not seen procedures at gated communities on 'star' routes, but I'd expect the actual mailboxes to be on the road, perhaps across from the property entrance, and require the residents to walk to them.
All this applies to gated communities with automatic gates, which is how I understand the question. Upscale communities have a full guard present, and he allows the USPS and delivery vehicles on property, with proper credential display, and will sometimes give them a 'pass' to specific locations for a specific time, same as for residents' guests or service people. If there is any question, the guard may also hold items to give to the resident when they return.
I live in a relatively new community in Delaware. It is NOT gated or fenced. The population density is pretty low. There are about 900 homes. We have two sets of cluster mailboxes, which serve both letters and packages. UPS and FedEx deliver to individual homes.
One side of the development runs along Railway Road. I can find no evidence that a railroad ever ran there. Perhaps, when the local library reopens I can do a better search.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I do have a food friend that lives is a high-security retirement community of attached condiminiums. Amazon is not even allowed through their gate. All deliveries go to a secure mail/package building.
Only approved contractors are allowed access for repairs.
This is something beyond a gated community. I could never live there.
Remember prisons are gated communities as well.
First, I looked at the date on the thread.
A gated community served by a short line RR. ? Seriously?
What would they serve?
Mike.
My You Tube
mbinsewi First, I looked at the date on the thread. A gated community served by a short line RR. ? Seriously? What would they serve? Mike.
Commuter traffic?
It isn't exactly a gated community, but check this out: https://www.vre.org/development/station-improvements/potomac-shores/
Purpose built station for a planned development. Not too different, really.
We lived in a gated community until recently. By federal law they cannot refuse the post office which is a federal agency or UPS, FEDEX or other packaged deivery services such as DHL from entry since they are interste common carriers.
mbinsewi First, I looked at the date on the thread.
Seems like post bloat. Ridiculous.
There are plenty of current threads to reply to if someone has nothing else to do.
Rich
Alton Junction
NittanyLionCommuter traffic?
Yea, I'm sure your right. Thought about it after I posted.
richhotrainYeah, why do guys revive old threads for no good reason?
Our esteamed forum friend Kevin brought it back, just wants to watch his post count get higher... It's a joke Kevin, don't get mad!
mbinsewiOur esteamed forum friend Kevin brought it back,
It was only four years old.
I actually just stumbled into it and did not realize it was old. I don't need to dig up old threads to find something to reply to. That is adding steps to the process for no reason.
I was reading another thread, and I clicked on the users icon, and this thread was in their history. I thought... "that sounds interesting", and read the thread... then replied.
Nothing nefarious going on about.
At first glance, I didn't see the date either, until I seen Steve's post.
This is a classic example of a thread full of information still relevant to a still-relevant topic, without extraneous commentary, contention, or drift. There would be no need, or no point, to have multiple threads on this every few years merely because some people dislike 'old' threads. While the OP did have a particular circumstance in mind, it was not one that would be "solved" after a certain number of posts, nor are the opinions he solicited able to be answered concisely in a finite number of posts.