RLHPF Confrence Booklet 2020 Final - Flipbook - Page 1
Siena Repetti | Claremont Graduate University
SAFER WAYS TO AGE IN PLACE: A SAFE ROUTES FOR SENIORS PROGRAM IN THE
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGION
Siena Repetti
Southern California Association of Governments
MPH Candidate, Claremont Graduate University School of Community and Global Health
SCAG is the largest Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in the nation, both in terms of population
and geographic size. The SCAG region includes more than 19 million people spread over six diverse
urban, suburban, and rural counties (Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and
Ventura) and 191 cities in an area covering more than 38,000 square miles.
Southern California’s most precious resource is its people. In order to understand how changes will
impact them, Connect SoCal, SCAG’s the Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities
Strategy, projects growth in employment, population,
Figure 2: Map of traffic collisions in the SCAG region
and households at the region, county, city, town, and
resulting in fatal or severe injuries to persons over
neighborhood levels. By 2045, the horizon year of the
the age of 65
plan, roughly 20 percent of the population, or one in
Source: SCAG, TIMS
five people, will be 65 or older. The aging of the
region’s population will pose new public health
challenges, particularly since many seniors are not
relocating from California when they retire. In 2017 less
than 1% of the senior population in California, or about
20,000 people, chose to retire to other states.
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With an aging population comes an increased need to
plan for walkable and compact urban environments to
support seniors choosing to age in place. Walkability is
a key component in the retention of positive health
Figure 2: Population Pyramids, SCAG Region, 2016 and 2045
Source: SCAG CA Department of Finance
Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, Intermap, increment P Corp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster
NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User
Community
outcomes and allowing seniors to age in
place. Walking improves both physical
and mental condition in the aging, allows
for access to important goods and
services, and can even help seniors
remain socially and civically active.
A Safe Routes for Seniors Program targets
pedestrian improvements in areas with
large numbers of senior residents to
improve safety and walkability in these
communities. These programs can help
improve older adult access to essential
services, transportation safety, and
physical health. Safe Routes for Seniors
Programs engage seniors in areas where
they live, and work with them via
workshops, forums, and community walks to understand their needs and concerns for moving safely
about their communities. These programs often include an educational component, where seniors are
educated about pedestrian safety. Through outreach and research, Safe Routes for Seniors Program
60 | Randall Lewis Health Policy Fellowship
coordinators and planners can assemble plans that identify areas of importance and concern, and
locations for potential future capital improvements.
Currently the major mode of transportation for older adults is automobiles, with three of every four
seniors in the state having a driver’s license. Currently California law requires that anyone over the age
of 70 renew their driver’s license in person. The CDC reports that older drivers have a higher crash rate
deaths than middle-aged drivers primarily because of their increased vulnerability in a crash. Safe
Routes for Seniors Programs aim to make communities more pedestrian friendly, allowing seniors to use
more active modes of transportation and decreasing the need for them to be in cars.
Safe Routes for Seniors Programs are a relatively new and have only recently been implemented. From
the evaluation of programs that are currently existing or have existed previously, interviews, and literature
reviews, the following best practices were identified that could be incorporated into future Safe Routes
for Seniors Programs.
Recommendations: SCAG Level
1. Create a centralized data resource for relevant senior
data, including areas with high concentrations of
senior residents, senior housing, senior trip
generators, and crashes involving seniors.
2. Develop guidelines for an ‘Age-Friendly’ community
and designations that can be awarded to
communities for their efforts.
3. Establish an Aging or Safe Routes for Seniors working
group or task force that meets regularly to discuss
best practices, new research, and current efforts.
4. Provide funding for local jurisdictions to develop Safe
Routes for Seniors Plans or programmatic activities
(e.g., Go Human-related pop up installations or
outreach to seniors).
5. Update the High Injury Network to take into account
crashes with seniors (either a separate network or
heavier weighting for crashes involving seniors on the
existing network).
6. Incorporate Safe Routes for Seniors infrastructure
changes, strategies, and outreach into the longrange plan, Connect So-Cal.
Recommendations: County and City Level
1. Identify relevant senior data, including areas with
high concentrations of senior residents, senior
housing, senior trip generators, and crashes
involving seniors.
2. Conduct needs-assessments, walk audits, and data
collection to identify the areas of highest need in the
community. Using both quantitative data, such as
crash statistics and population densities, as well as
qualitative data, such as Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis and
interviews with community members and health
professionals, identify problem spots in the
community.
3. Develop local stakeholder networks, including local
senior groups, to advocate for changes on behalf of
the seniors in the area.
4. Develop Safe Routes for Seniors Plans or incorporate
seniors specifically as a vulnerable population into
existing or future safety strategic plans.
5. Participate in region-wide Safe Routes for Seniors
working group or best practices forum.
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