GPS Questions

Our private gravel farm lane is about a mile long.About 25 years ago a paved county road was extended for development and deadended on the back corner of our property.At that time we extendeded our gravel lane and joined to the county road.Has never been a problem until now these GPS systems are telling people to use our farm lane to access the paved county road.Not only is it longer for people,the extra traffic is hard on our lane.I have large signs posted but people ignore them and follow their GPS instructions.I know nothing about GPS's,is there someone or sevice you can contact to change there wrong routes?

Mine recognizes unpaved access roads through the woods and between fields (very handy). Maybe in your case a sign that says "ignore your GPS road closed" Or "no through access" whatever you do, I"d make sure the biggest writing in Red is "ignore your GPS".

Dave

Gate, padlock, and chain.

upside down drag section about ten yards from the road closed no access signs?

Sorry,can't gate it as there are still several people who live at the end of our gravel lane that would have to drive back through our farm,including my 91 year old father.Plus UPS,gas deliveries,etc. use it for their convenience.Have large red and white metal signs that say No Trespassing private road at each end.Not a dad idea about the no gps sign,though.

its on a map somewhere as a public road and shown as such when maps were uploaded into GPS.

I would check country road maps for your area and see if your drive is shown.

It could be that people are just on your property before they realize the county road has ended.

GOOGLE is your friend... a search for "How to correct a GPS map error turned up quite a few sites, including the one linked below:
File a report...

Thanks Bob

Somewhere your 'private' road might be recorded as an easement. Then it's not so much private, perhaps not really public, but somewhere in the middle.

Perhaps getting it called a public road & letting the township.county take over on maintaining it would be the best option in the long run, as you are already going down that path, won't really be a ble to stop it.

Many maps will show any driveway that is an easement type of thing as recorded in the courthouse, as they are not totally a private road any more, they are at least shared - it's recorded as a road somewhere in the govt pile of papers.

--->Paul

How about a sign that says road closed bridge out or something to that effect. Only those living there would know different.

slim

Hi Paul: I tend to agree but.. I'd suggest that he get accurate info, prefered in writing, such as on his Deed. He needs someone who knows how to access Courthouse info. Many realestate Closers might be able to help.. A Lawyer is spendy and might not give a rip except for getting paid.. If he has been there 25 years, he should be able to get accurate info as to who has a right to use the road and "IF" it is a public access road or how it relates to his property rights etc.. This can vary from state to state. Good luck in getting accurate written info.. Verbal info sometimes helps but.. I've been to over 30 closings and I always felt better AFTER the check cleared in my account. Public road access can be a "Hot button" issue. ag.

Yup, agree with you. I coulda filled in a little better as you did, my quick point was that the road exists & if it allows more than one family/ house to travel it from one public road to another public road - well 90% of folks are going to just use it, figure it is a public road never mind any signs.... Going to be an uphill battle.

My county mostly outlawed the concept of 'private but shared' roads like that. They found they were spending too many resources trying to sort out the headaches created. 'Easemenys' get real goofy over who contols & maintains what. Nearly any private dwelling going up now needs it's own access to a public road be4 you can get a permit to build/ occupy. It can be an easement still, but one house per easement, not several houses on the same easement/ private drive.

--->Paul

A truly private farm lane. It's fire wood colleting time--drop a good sized tree across it. Leave it for a month or 6 and cut it up. Should stop all traffic long enough to change GPS's mind.

Just had the same happen to my wife and I.
We were working in the middle of 50 acres of woods we have on the Tug Hill Plateau, New York.
All of sudden, an army of four wheelers came racing in -on OUR road. I stopped them and asked what they were doing there. They told me their
GPS and map program shows our private road as as a town highway. I threw them out.

As to records at the courthouse or county clerk? Wrong place to look since town roads do not have to be recorded in deeds. Most states require all counties to have yearly "road inventories." County get them every year from each town. That inventory has to show the road total length, class, and width. If a town can prove they have claimed anything to be a road after X amount of years - it becomes a public road with no other paperwork involved. In my area of NY, it takes 10 years, but this can vary by state. Chances are, if the town never enters onto your road and does any maintenance, it's probably not a town road of any sort. On the other hand, if they do come in and do anything, it automatically becomes a town road after a certain amount of years if you don't stop them.

I'll add that in many states, once a road is a public road - it stays that way forever - regardless of maintenance - unless the town formally abandons that road.

Soome times it is hard to tell. I used to collect old bottles and spent a lot of time with early 1900 topo maps, found an old road that had a few foundations on it. Got to the road sign said "Seasonal road" No Maintanence NOV- MAY with the town name below it. Good enough I continued on the road did my thing. Decided to see where the road came out. Got narrower more closed in,more of a logging trail than anything else. Finally broke out of the woods into a field but still a trace of road along the fence line. Ended up coming out in some guys barnyard, had to open a gate to let myself out and down his driveway. Got to the end of the drive onto a town road, and sure enough there on the end was a another sign claiming this guys drive was a limited maintenence town road. I felt like a fool,but I guess I was legal.

Hey Pitch, I call that an "adventure". When I first got married back in the early 60s, my wife and I followed one of those old roads where at one point we had to open and close the fence at one side of the pasture and do it all over again at the other side. Funny thing is, we travel it quite regularly now and its a blacktopped road with 15 or 20 houses that have been built along it in the past 20-25 years.