A year-long study of how Davidson can help older residents as they age wrapped up Tuesday with a series of recommendations to the Town Board, including proposals to improve pedestrian safety and transportation and expand housing options and senior programs. The Aging in Place Task Force also announced plans to become a permanent fixture – called the Davidson Senior Coalition – and asked the Town Board to hire a part-time employee to coordinate its activities.

The task force was appointed last year to study issues that affect the quality of life for older residents, who are a rapidly growing portion of the town’s population, Assistant Town Manager Dawn Blobaum told the Town Board at its meeting Tuesday night. Ms. Blobaum helped manage the task force’s work and coordinate with Town Hall.

Task force members gathered information over the past year from many sources, met with experts (some of whom joined the task force) and conducted a survey that brought in 650 responses.

AGING POPULATION

It’s estimated that 30 percent of the population in North Mecklenburg will be over age 50 by 2010, Ms. Blobaum said.

In Davidson, 11 percent of residents were older than 65 in 2000, compared to 8 percent in Cornelius and 6 percent in Huntersville. And the Davidson figure is likely much higher now, Ms. Blobaum said.

The St. Alban’s neighborhood has a attracted many older newcomers, and the growing number of townhouses being built here is also an attraction, Ms. Blobaum said.

“The senior population is rising more rapidly than the surrounding areas due to our walkability and the variety of housing types,” she said. “As Exit 30 emerges as a mixed-use center with residential close by, it too will become a magnet for seniors looking for services close to their homes.”

About 650 people responded to the Aging in Place survey. Major concerns included pedestrian safety, transportation, and the need for affordable housing and assisted living.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The task force offered a variety of recommendations.

On the roads, task force members would like to see improved signage, such as overhead signs and signs with larger lettering and graphics. Ms. Blobaum said the town could consider improving signs as older ones are replaced.

Also, older residents would like to see the painted lane lines on local streets widened from the current 4 inches to 6 inches. And they suggested adding more pavement reflectors.

Other requests included more and better bike lanes, such as along Griffith Street, which would make it easier for seniors to reach shopping near Exit 30 or to come downtown from the Exit 30 area.

ON-STREET GOLF CARTS?

The Task Force also would like the board to consider allowing “neighborhood electric vehicles,” or NEVs, which are a sort of “street-legal golf cart,” she said.

Board members were told that pedestrian crossings also could be improved, by adjusting signal timing to give pedestrians more time to cross, and by using bolder striping on crosswalks.

Ms. Blobaum said one in five residents over age 65 doesn’t drive. So the group also suggested increasing the budget for sidewalks and paths, to make it easier for those on foot to get to their destinations.

The task force also seeks ways to make it easier for seniors to find transportation around town, such as buses. A program to train seniors to use the Village Rider was suggested. And the task force endorsed a long-range goal for Davidson to have its own around-town bus.

HOUSING ISSUES

Ms. Blobaum also said the town must ensure that it has affordable housing and home-related services for seniors. The town might consider requiring builders to offer “universal designs’ in their developments, which would include specifications and fixtures aimed at older or disabled residents.

The town also could encourage the creation of programs that make it easier and safer for residents to stay in their homes. This could range from the Vial of Life program, which puts residents’ medical information in an easy to find place so medical personnel can find it in an emergency, to programs that offer help with yard work, home repairs and other chores that challenge older residents. The town also could help neighborhood residents band together to contract for services similar to those found in formal retirement communities.

Also, more adult day care is needed in this area, she said. And the town should continue to support the North Meck Senior Center in Cornelius and the Davidson Senior Center.

Ms. Blobaum said the work ahead will stretch out over the coming years.

“These recommendations run the gamut from neighborhood programs to regional facilities,” she said. “Some are short term and rather easily implemented. Some are long term developments which will require intense coordination among jurisdictions and town departments.”

Ms. Blobaum said the task force plans to “morph” into a permanent Senior Coalition, to continue working on long-range issues. It plans to seek non-profit status and wants the town to hire a staff member to coordinate its activities, she said.

Aging in Place task force members included Town Board member Bill Johnson and a long list of residents, town staff members, and experts: Adria Appleby, Anne Burney, Anne White, Barbara Bryan, Berta Spencer, Bill McCoy, Bernice Houston, Lauren Blackburn, Dewitt Crosby, Jan Blodgett, Jennifer Szakaly, JoAnne Ahern, Kathryn Sellers, Kate MacIntyre, Marcia Webster, Sauni Wood, Sharon Williams, Gayla Woody, Rev. Darrell Van Pelt, Sarah Frey, and Nancy Waite-Kahn.

DOCUMENTS

Jan. 7, 2008, Aging in Place draft final report

February 2007, Aging in Place survey results