Creating an ‘age-friendly’ Sydney

Research suggests Sydney still has “a lot of potential” to create a better pedestrian environment to make the city more walkable for all types of people.

According to the research report, Sydney urban planning still has quite a gap to “catch up” with the ageing population because elderly pedestrians are reportedly “missing” from present street layout.

The Cumberland Courier newspaper reports several major problems which have been summarised by the Sydney 2030 plan; which alleges the fast-paced city reportedly suffers from low levels of accessibility, intolerable short time for passing to cross the streets, narrow sidewalks, lack of benches along main walking links, improper noise levels, high traffic speed and lack of security at night time.

According to the researchers, with an improved age-friendly pedestrian environment, the government may benefit through better health and overall well-being, enhanced independence and better social communication.

However, they claim it may be a challenge for urban planners to re-create a city environment that allows people of all ages to maintain their preferred lifestyle, especially the elderly.

Researchers also suggest some possible strategies to create this age-friendly environment and some of these components include:

• Develop a ‘traffic calming’ system to allow older people to cross roads safely. Widen footways at corner;, speed humps and raised thresholds provide some degree of protection for aged pedestrians.

• Different paving materials on sidewalks need to be carefully placed together as some may have a ‘roughness’ which poses older people at a higher risk of falling or slipping.

• The location and frequency of public facilities such as seating, drinking fountains, telephones, bus shelters and post boxes are important to allow older people to remain connected with the community.

• A person’s living environment needs to be secure in order to strongly support pedestrians’ willingness to travel around within the local area. Regardless of the true level of danger, anxieties about security are conveyed almost everywhere, including matters such as violence, street lighting, drugs, crime and homelessness in public places.

Can you think of any other safety measures or improvements that Sydney needs to adopt in order to create an age-friendly environment? Share your suggestions by commenting in the box below.