Whats the deal with this, who pays for the maintenance of these roads, and what are you meant to do if you are visiting someone there?
Having somewhat reluctantly got a car for the first time in CH I'm a bit surprised at the number of private roads, not just small ones or ones through a nature reserve but big areas that are closed off, eg around Buechenegg and at Ringlikon most of it seems to be behind no entry signs, looking on google maps theres a shed load of houses there.
Are you sure they're not just one way?
Check this older thread https://www.englishforum.ch/transpor...eptions-2.html
A sign like this with the words Zubringerdienst gestattet / Riverains autorisés / Servizio a domicilio permesso?
Sometimes they're private roads, but most of times they're not. They're just roads near a school (lots of children), or areas with lots of pedestrians (city center, ski lifts, train station, etc). Or roads that finish 100-200m after the sign where there's no place to park, so you're pointed to park in the last possible place before hiking. The point is you're not supposed to drive your car/motorcycle/tractor if you don't live there or are delivering an object that you cannot carry with your arms and walk.
The same sign with the text "Land- und Forstwirtschaft gestattet" means only farmers and forestry workers are allowed to drive. Sometimes there are roads that were paved for whatever reason but motor vehicles are not allowed anymore. I've seen them near highways and tunnels. I assume support roads built during the construction of tunnel or made redundant by the tunnel are closed to motor vehicles once the tunnel is working.
I recognize that as the Ringlikon one, the one at Buechenegg is accompanied by dire warnings of video surveillance.
Private roads are paid for by the home owners, sometimes by choice and sometimes not. The road I lived was private and for a long time the community refused to take it over because it was expensive to maintain. They eventually agreed, if each household would make a one off 10k payment. But one old boy refused as he did not expect to live long enough to get his money’s worth! So it took nearly 20 years before it was made public.