Appraisal 101 - Private Or Public Road ?

[techbiker]

A private road is an easment in the legal description that all parcels on that road have. It is the way they gain access to their property. The parties on that easement are required to maintain it. A public road is owned by a governmental entity. The gov entity maintains it. We have lots of private roads in my county. Most are quite short, and service a handful of parcels or condo complexes.

It's definitely less typical but there are entirely private roads in my area that are not easements. Some half a mile long. Say the road for a corporate campus owned by a single business. The owner can close off access at any time and for any reason. Otherwise, these roads might be identical in design to completely publicly-maintained roads or those maintained through a mutual access agreement.

 

[Howard Klahr]

Can you block public access to a public road?

Interesting concept. Lincoln Road in Miami Beach has been restricted to pedestrians, no vehicles allowed. There are also publicly owned sidewalks in Miami Beach that are leased to adjoining businesses (mostly restaurants) for outside dining areas that block/restrict pedestrian traffic.