By ALESHA CAPONE
AN INNOVATIVE plan to make Brimbank a better place for senior citizens to live has lifted the lid on the issues faced by elderly residents.
Released last week, Brimbank City Council’s Age Friendly City Plan has been developed to give the growing population of older residents an improved quality of life and increase their social participation.
Prior to the plan, community consultation among elderly residents revealed they want the council to install more public toilets, improve footpaths and provide more seating at shopping centres, parks and libraries.
Brimbank senior citizens also requested additional safety measures in public places, especially older residents living in Sunshine and St Albans.
Ageing residents in Keilor, St Albans, Keilor Plains, Kings Park and Sunshine asked for infrastructure improvements.
The plan also revealed transport availability and accessibility is a key issue among Brimbank’s older commuters.
“The attitudes and behaviour of bus and taxi drivers also emerged as a significant issue throughout the consultation,” the report said.
As a result, among actions the council will take as part of Age Friendly City Plan will be liaising with transport services providers “to improve practice and attitudes towards older people”.
The council will also explore the idea of enlisting volunteers to help elderly people travel, investigate the suitability and availability of housing for older residents and promote volunteering opportunities among the over-55s.
The new council plan said the number of people aged between 55 to 74 in Brimbank was expected to rise by almost 12,000 by 2031.
Only 22 per cent of the area’s senior citizens were born in Australia and one in nearly five have diabetes.
By 2020, Brimbank will have the fifth-highest rate of people with dementia in Victoria.
Brimbank administrator Peter Lewinsky said the Age Friendly City Plan was one the more unusual documents to come before the council, but a worthy one.
