Weymouth Plans Safe Routes for Seniors

Weymouth, MA – June 06, 2014 – The Weymouth Department of Planning & Community Development seeks to promote healthy aging in Weymouth by designing safer routes for seniors.  Over the summer, the Planning Department will partner with the Town’s Health Department, Elder Services Division, and the non-profit WalkBoston to conduct a data-driven senior pedestrian safety study.  Information will be collected on the town’s housing, land use, and pedestrian accidents relative to seniors (age 60+).  This data will then be mapped and analyzed to identify target areas for designing street improvements that will make it safer for older residents to walk and be active.  WalkBoston will work with Town staff and community members to evaluate the walking environment in four of the identified target areas.  In addition, Weymouth seniors will be encouraged to share their opinions and make suggestions for improving pedestrian safety.  A public presentation and workshop will be held on Friday, June 20th at 10:00 am in the John F. McCulloch Building, Whipple Senior Center.  All seniors are invited to attend, be heard, and learn how communities can be made safer through improvements to streets and sidewalks.

In recent years, the town of Weymouth has seen its population age and diversify.  A little more than one fifth of residents are over the age 59, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.  A recent study by the Tufts Health Plan Foundation also finds that among residents 65 years or older about one third live alone, more than a fifth are obese, and about one in eight are income eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid (a proxy measurement for poverty).  The Town’s Elder Services Division provides an array of resources to assist older residents, but never before has the town’s built environment been analyzed from a senior-centric perspective.  The Weymouth Safe Routes for Seniors project will produce community plans and design guidelines for making physical improvements to the town that will help facilitate and support active living among seniors and hence healthy aging.  The project is scheduled to be completed by the fall 2014.