|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | ||
|
 |
Elderly's car reliance is seen increasing By Anthony Flint Boston Glob, August 8, 2003 Older Americans -- the majority of whom live in suburbs -- will be ever more dependent on cars, increasing the potential for isolation and deadly accidents like the crash at a California farmer's market that killed 10 last month, a new report says. ''The number of older Americans is increasing and they are all tethered to their cars,'' said Robert Puentes, senior research manager at the Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy at the Brookings Institution, which published the report yesterday. ''Safety is a concern, as the Santa Monica tragedy pointed out.'' In that accident, 86-year-old Russell Weller plowed his car through the three-block-long market. The report concludes that transportation alternatives will need to be funded as America ages, and also that suburban neighborhoods should be redesigned so residents can walk to stores and restaurants more. The population of Americans over age 65 is expected to double by 2030, to about 70 million; about 13 percent will be over age 86. The majority of seniors will live, as they do now, in suburban settings, the report says, and will rely on cars to get around. The report recommends that federal transportation funding, which is up for reauthorization this year, pay special attention to the needs of the elderly, with specialized bus and shuttle services, car-sharing programs, and safer vehicles. But Puentes said there is a limit to transportation alternatives for seniors living in the suburbs. The ultimate solution, he said, is to change the design of suburban neighborhoods themselves, reducing the need for cars. ''We aren't saying that older Americans need to move back into cities. But we can design our communities and neighborhoods to give older Americans more choice, so that driving is not the only option,'' he said. Instead of separating homes, restaurants, stores, and offices, all those uses can be brought together within walking distance, Puentes said. ''The best thing we can do is address the land use elements,'' he said. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
