CANADA: Cities Must Respond To The Growing Mix Of Seniors

PRINCE GEORGE (Prince George Citizen - CNC), February 1, 2008: The rapidly growing seniors population coupled with a notable decrease in the number of births is causing the world to think more about developing age-friendly communities to accommodate the elderly. In a presentation Thursday at UNBC, Dr. Elaine Gallagher, director with the Centre on Aging at the University of Victoria, said statistics show that in 1950 there were four children for every living great-grandparent. "By 2000, there were fewer children for each, and by 2050, amazingly, it's said there will be four great-grandparents for every child." Her point is there won't be a lot of younger people to care for their elders, so communities will need to become more age-friendly to accommodate them. Gallagher has worked on a number of age-friendly projects ranging from the World Health Organization to urban and remote communities in Canada. "We've learned along the way that both people and cities are aging -- some falling apart. So what kind of cities do we need to have in the future? Some common complaints by today's seniors include poor pedestrian walkways; lack of public toilets, rest benches and lighting; heavy traffic; feeling threatened by groups of youth; heavy doors and difficult stairs. A lack of public toilets can cause seniors to stay home, as will a lack of rest benches stop them from going for walks no matter how good the trail or walk system, she said. Gallagher said the topic that generated the most discussion was transportation -- particularly connecting services in public transit where seniors have to walk up hills and over difficult places to reach connecting buses. She added one B.C. community is establishing a handy-van service with small vans that run crossways to the bus schedules. There is even some thought of looking at the use of school buses during the times between dropping students off and picking them up, she said. "The buses just sit there all day, so why not find a use for them like bringing seniors downtown for shopping?" Although older seniors, 75 and older, dislike automated phone service, the small print in phone books and communication and information becoming Internet based, "it is concerns of mobility and independence related to housing at the top of the barrier list," Gallagher said. Some municipalities are now looking at ruling that all new housing be built at ground level with at least one bathroom on the main floor. Some other concerns include affordability of medical services, lack of physicians, broken and uneven streets and crosswalks. "Cross lights are made for Olympic runners," one senior told her. Gallagher said its important to have seniors involved in all community planning; local identification of issues and solutions since "one size doesn't fit all"; and ongoing maintenance of infrastructure along with improvements. "Our cities are aging as well as our people," she said. By Bernice Trick, Citizen staff © Copyright 2008 Prince George Citizen