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Seniors' transport has a long way to go
May 23, 2006. 01:00 AM
NAOMI CARNIOL
STAFF REPORTER
This is the second instalment in a series about how seniors are coping with life in the regions outside Toronto.
Maureen Harwood doesn't take buses, although she'd like to. But she never knows if a bus will have a ramp for her walker.
So Harwood, 81, takes taxis when she leaves her seniors' building.
"That's what most of the other ladies do here," the Markham resident says.
While Greater Toronto suburbs are pouring money into expanding bus systems, many seniors believe cities have overlooked something in their plans — them.
From not enough benches at bus stops to buses without ramps, the transit expansion hasn't yet fulfilled their needs. This not only affects their pocketbooks but also decreases their mobility and increases their risk of isolation.
Planners didn't think about buses when the older suburbs were conceived. "They're designed for the car," says Glenn Miller, the Canadian Urban Institute's director of education and research.
Shops, hospitals and other amenities were placed separately from houses. "That was fine as long as people were able to drive," Miller says. But when older people in car-dependent suburbs "lose access to their car keys ... they can become seriously affected."
After almost being in two accidents, Harwood gave up her car a few years ago. "I miss it terribly," she says. "Yesterday, I had to phone my daughter at work and ask her to bring me food and milk. Whereas (in the past) I would have hopped in my car and gone."
In the Greater Toronto suburbs, "public transportation tends to be inadequate," says Joey Edwardh, executive director of Community Development Halton. "It doesn't run everywhere and certainly after a certain hour in the evening you couldn't go anywhere. Not to mention weekends."
It's a far cry from Toronto where the subway runs until 1:30 a.m. "We're in the Bay Area Learning Centre along Harvester Rd. in Burlington. Many volunteer committees meet here in the evening, but there's no bus that runs along Harvester in the evening," she says.
While Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills and Milton are all part of Halton region, "there's very limited transportation between the municipalities," Edwardh says. If you live in Burlington and want to visit a friend in Oakville, it's not easy to get there. "There are some buses that link to the GO line and the VIA line, but in terms of a public transit system that covers the communities out here ... it's very limited," she says.
The Ontario government requires drivers to take a knowledge test every two years once they turn 80. The test comes up often in conversation at the Thornhill Seniors Centre, says board member Marg Jones. "We have people here in their 80s who have driven all their lives. They panic months in advance of the test."
Not everyone lives as close to a bus route. York Region Transit wants "to put a transit route within a 10 to 15 minute walk of 90 per cent of the population," says Don Gordon, the transit authority's general manager. "We want transit to be within a reasonable walking distance of everyone."
That's already been accomplished in most parts of the region, Gordon says. But it's not always possible in the older subdivisions because of their design, he says. Transit planners need to look at the system through different eyes, Miller says. Seniors may walk slower and have less energy than younger people. More benches should be installed between bus stops "for people to rest along the way." That's only part of the answer for improving seniors' mobility in the suburbs, Miller said.
In the suburbs, residential areas are spread over large distances. "There isn't really the intensity of demand that you have in the inner city where we can afford to provide a bus every 10 minutes all day long," says Michael Roschlau, president of the lobby group Canadian Urban Transit Association. "You're lucky if we can justify a bus every half-hour...."
York Region Transit's newest five-year plan outlines its goal to have buses every 20 minutes during peak periods on main routes and every 30 minutes on local routes in residential areas and business parks.
It's not waiting for buses that bothers Jessie Lunge, 79. She just wishes more bus stops had benches. Back pain makes it hard for her to walk. "Standing is almost impossible," she says.
Sometimes she waits 30 minutes for a bus. "If there is no bench, I'm stuck," the Mississauga resident says. "I've wasted so much money on cab fare. I wish it was more convenient for seniors to get around."
The regions and municipalities are making an effort to be more accessible. All new York Region Transit buses have low floors to accommodate wheelchairs, scooters and walkers, Gordon says.
This fall, some routes will be designated as fully accessible. All buses on those routes will have low floors and bus shelters will be retrofitted so "people in wheelchairs and scooters can move around ... without any difficulties," Gordon says.Transit authorities in York and Durham also operate community bus routes that go to libraries, stores and hospitals. Both plan to expand these community bus services.
Lunge hopes they remember the benches, too.
Seniors' transport has a long way to go
May 23, 2006. 01:00 AM
NAOMI CARNIOL
STAFF REPORTER
This is the second instalment in a series about how seniors are coping with life in the regions outside Toronto.
Maureen Harwood doesn't take buses, although she'd like to. But she never knows if a bus will have a ramp for her walker.
So Harwood, 81, takes taxis when she leaves her seniors' building.
"That's what most of the other ladies do here," the Markham resident says.
While Greater Toronto suburbs are pouring money into expanding bus systems, many seniors believe cities have overlooked something in their plans — them.
From not enough benches at bus stops to buses without ramps, the transit expansion hasn't yet fulfilled their needs. This not only affects their pocketbooks but also decreases their mobility and increases their risk of isolation.
Planners didn't think about buses when the older suburbs were conceived. "They're designed for the car," says Glenn Miller, the Canadian Urban Institute's director of education and research.
Shops, hospitals and other amenities were placed separately from houses. "That was fine as long as people were able to drive," Miller says. But when older people in car-dependent suburbs "lose access to their car keys ... they can become seriously affected."
After almost being in two accidents, Harwood gave up her car a few years ago. "I miss it terribly," she says. "Yesterday, I had to phone my daughter at work and ask her to bring me food and milk. Whereas (in the past) I would have hopped in my car and gone."
In the Greater Toronto suburbs, "public transportation tends to be inadequate," says Joey Edwardh, executive director of Community Development Halton. "It doesn't run everywhere and certainly after a certain hour in the evening you couldn't go anywhere. Not to mention weekends."
It's a far cry from Toronto where the subway runs until 1:30 a.m. "We're in the Bay Area Learning Centre along Harvester Rd. in Burlington. Many volunteer committees meet here in the evening, but there's no bus that runs along Harvester in the evening," she says.
While Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills and Milton are all part of Halton region, "there's very limited transportation between the municipalities," Edwardh says. If you live in Burlington and want to visit a friend in Oakville, it's not easy to get there. "There are some buses that link to the GO line and the VIA line, but in terms of a public transit system that covers the communities out here ... it's very limited," she says.
The Ontario government requires drivers to take a knowledge test every two years once they turn 80. The test comes up often in conversation at the Thornhill Seniors Centre, says board member Marg Jones. "We have people here in their 80s who have driven all their lives. They panic months in advance of the test."
Not everyone lives as close to a bus route. York Region Transit wants "to put a transit route within a 10 to 15 minute walk of 90 per cent of the population," says Don Gordon, the transit authority's general manager. "We want transit to be within a reasonable walking distance of everyone."
That's already been accomplished in most parts of the region, Gordon says. But it's not always possible in the older subdivisions because of their design, he says. Transit planners need to look at the system through different eyes, Miller says. Seniors may walk slower and have less energy than younger people. More benches should be installed between bus stops "for people to rest along the way." That's only part of the answer for improving seniors' mobility in the suburbs, Miller said.
In the suburbs, residential areas are spread over large distances. "There isn't really the intensity of demand that you have in the inner city where we can afford to provide a bus every 10 minutes all day long," says Michael Roschlau, president of the lobby group Canadian Urban Transit Association. "You're lucky if we can justify a bus every half-hour...."
York Region Transit's newest five-year plan outlines its goal to have buses every 20 minutes during peak periods on main routes and every 30 minutes on local routes in residential areas and business parks.
It's not waiting for buses that bothers Jessie Lunge, 79. She just wishes more bus stops had benches. Back pain makes it hard for her to walk. "Standing is almost impossible," she says.
Sometimes she waits 30 minutes for a bus. "If there is no bench, I'm stuck," the Mississauga resident says. "I've wasted so much money on cab fare. I wish it was more convenient for seniors to get around."
The regions and municipalities are making an effort to be more accessible. All new York Region Transit buses have low floors to accommodate wheelchairs, scooters and walkers, Gordon says.
This fall, some routes will be designated as fully accessible. All buses on those routes will have low floors and bus shelters will be retrofitted so "people in wheelchairs and scooters can move around ... without any difficulties," Gordon says.Transit authorities in York and Durham also operate community bus routes that go to libraries, stores and hospitals. Both plan to expand these community bus services.
Lunge hopes they remember the benches, too.
