Creating liveable communities for everyone – what we
can learn from how older people get around their
urban, regional and rural communities.
Council on the Ageing (COTA) NSW
What we asked
“Design for the young and you exclude the
old. Design for the old and you include
everyone.”
Professor Bernard Isaacs
COTA New South Wales
Let’s talk about how you get around
COTA NSW’s 2015 50+ Report was based on a survey
and consultations called, Let’s talk about how you get
around, the results of which influenced the inclusion
of ‘getting around’ as a priority area in the NSW
Ageing Strategy.
COTA New South Wales
The 2016-2020 NSW Ageing Strategy
Getting around is one of 6 priority areas in the NSW
Ageing Strategy. The Strategy acknowledges that not
only are there often a lack of transport options, but
there are also common issues such as physical mobility,
cost, safety, getting to transport, then getting onto
transport, and accessing information that can affect a
person’s ability to get around as they age.
COTA New South Wales
Let’s talk about how you get around
COTA New South Wales
COTA New South Wales
Survey and consultations
• Surveyed 4,000 people over the age of 55
• Consumer consultations with older people in six
locations around NSW
COTA New South Wales
What we asked
We asked people about their challenges getting around.
We asked them to think beyond cars, trains and planes
and think also about how the physical environment in
their neighbourhood/areas helped or hindered their
ability to get around as they aged.
COTA New South Wales
What we asked
What happened when they walked out their front gate
and to the bus stop? If they had a car, but how easy was
it to find a park close to their destination? How far was
it from the hospital parking lot to the hospital entrance?
Did they feel confident walking around their local park?
Were there enough pedestrian crossings?
COTA New South Wales
Survey and consultations
In the survey we took the broadest possible view, asking
questions about people’s primary form of transport, the
types of public and community transport options
available to them and the accessibility of the built
environment around them. The survey found that
transport accessibility was inextricably linked to the
built environment.
COTA New South Wales
Survey findings
COTA New South Wales
Survey findings
COTA New South Wales
Survey findings
• Most people preferred the convenience of driving.
• But people everywhere relied more on public transport as they
aged.
• In many areas there were few alternatives to driving a car,
leaving some people isolated in their old age.
• The survey revealed that the challenges of getting around for
older people in rural and regional areas were particularly
difficult.
• There was often poor community infrastructure (such as a lack
of footpaths) that made getting about easily and safely
difficult.
COTA New South Wales
The consultation questions
1. Tell us about some of your biggest challenges
getting around.
COTA New South Wales
The consultation quesitons
2. If you were no longer able to drive a car what
would your alternatives be? How would life
change for you?
COTA New South Wales
The consultation quesitons
3. Tell us about some of the physical
improvements that could be made in your
neighbourhood/area that would help make
getting around easier?
COTA New South Wales
The consultation questions
4. Considering where your live and your
community, realistically what would be one
major initiative that could be delivered quickly
that would improve your ability to get around?
COTA New South Wales
What people told us
“Disaster! I’m too far from public transport where I live
here and there are no footpaths to walk to the nearest
bus stop. I supposed I’d have to move. “
Central Coast participant
COTA New South Wales
What people told us
“How can they expect us to give up our driver’s licences
and then not provide us with any decent transport
alternatives? It’s very frustrating!”
Sydney participant
COTA New South Wales
What people told us
“I hate my dependence on my car, especially as I no
longer enjoy or want to drive.”
Nowra participant
COTA New South Wales
What people told us
“There are still parts of Armidale without paved
footpaths on even one side of the road. It’s that way
outside my retirement village and it really makes me
reluctant to walk anywhere.”
Armidale participant
COTA New South Wales
What we learned
Outside of the central areas of Sydney, across the
groups there was a clear lack of transport alternatives
once people could no longer drive, particularly in
regional areas such as Nowra and Armidale. People
generally reported that they felt there was no real
provision has been made for the ageing population
and that there was a real need to increase access to
transport alternatives, such as community transport,
as people aged and gave up their driver’s licences and
look for alternative forms of transport.
COTA New South Wales
What we learned
The outside built environment, including public
buildings and amenities have a major impact on the
mobility, independence and quality of life of older
people and affect their ability to “age in place”. We
found the results of our consultations very much
mirrored the WHO age friendly cities eight domains,
in particular the domains of ‘outdoor spaces and
buildings’ and ‘transportation.’
COTA New South Wales
What we found
Our research confirmed what many other researchers
has found: features such as wide, even footpaths, good
lighting in public places such as carparks, plenty of
seating in parks, malls and shopping areas, public
transport hubs and hospitals, plenty of lighting at places
such as bus stops and parking lots, well placed pedestrian
crossings with good signage, and plenty of accessible
parking were important and necessary features that
ensured people could move around their communities
safely.
COTA New South Wales
What we learned
Transport and the design of community infrastructure
are inseparable, particularly in an ageing city or town.
If people are not confident to walk from place to
place, this in turn affects their ability to get out and
about to socialise and to exercise and stay healthy.
We all want to age well - so providing a community
with good infrastructure and transport alternatives
benefits everyone.
COTA New South Wales
Simple improvements can make a difference
In many cases simple improvements such as good
signage, helpful, considerate public transport staff, and
access to information about transport alternatives
participants suggested could make a huge difference to
someone’s ability to get around.
COTA New South Wales
Communication is essential
Moving information onto the internet doesn’t always
work for older people who often do not have access to a
computer or internet in their home. The assumption of
internet access leaves many older people without
computers at a loss. Are we communicating with older
people in ways that help them navigate their options?
COTA New South Wales
Finally
Our survey and consultations mirror the findings of a
large body of research, including that of the World
Health Organisation (WHO) - that ensuring people can
continue to get around their communities as they age
ensures social participation, active ageing and mental
health.
COTA New South Wales
Thank you
COTA New South Wales