April 2024. An unfortunately very ordinary story, which could be yours or that of one of your loved ones, unfolds discreetly in the streets of your neighborhood.
Pierre is preparing to visit his wife Jeanne, a resident of a CHSLD for almost three years. At 81, Pierre still lives in the house where they spent their life together, and he visits her twice a week.
Using his cane, he reaches the bus stop located a few minutes from his home. On the rather narrow sidewalk, two imposing trash cans block his path, forcing him to go down onto the road.
Pierre feels at his back the breath of vehicles speeding a few meters from him. He is always afraid of losing his balance.
Arriving at the bus stop, his legs slightly trembling, Pierre waits standing. The stop consists of a pole on which the passing times displayed are so small that he cannot decipher them without his glasses. Here, there is no bench to rest or shelter to protect yourself from bad weather.
Pierre gets on the bus and sees the facade of the CHSLD about ten stops later. To get there, he must cross a busy intersection. The traffic light turns green, Pierre takes a deep breath before setting off. He knows very well that the crossing time is too short for people who walk at his speed.
Having only arrived halfway, the flashing hand of the pedestrian light comes on and a horn can already be heard a few meters further on. Picking up his pace, Pierre reaches the other side of the street when the traffic light is already red, out of breath and nervous.
He is now about a hundred meters from the entrance. On the discontinuous sidewalk which connects the asphalt parking lot to the reception, Pierre must climb over a curb and make his way between the cars, whose height reduces his visibility.
By finally walking through the front door, Pierre has once again defied the statistics. In Quebec, in 2022, among pedestrians, those over 65 represented a quarter of the serious injuries and almost half of the 79 deaths (SAAQ, 2024).
“Health zones”
Far from being an isolated case, Pierre’s story illustrates the obstacles faced by elderly users around health facilities, and even beyond. These establishments, such as hospitals, residential and long-term care centers (CHSLD) or local community service centers (CLSC), are nevertheless important destination places frequented by both care recipients and their families. relatives. And the trend will increase: in 2066, people aged 65 and over will make up 27.7% of the Quebec population, compared to 20% in 2020.
In this context, could we consider health beyond the walls of these establishments to promote active aging? And take inspiration from the school zone to develop their surroundings in a safe and friendly way?
Several courses of action are within our reach, one of which is essential: establishing health facilities at the heart of mixed living environments, served by transport networks and within the existing urban perimeter.
Municipalities are increasingly planning their territory through the lens of active aging; integrating busy places such as health facilities into travel plans or street safety strategies is the next step to take.
The current revision of the Road Safety Code would have been an opportunity to adopt a default reference speed within an urban perimeter of 30 km/h to facilitate traffic calming around establishments. and, why not, as part of the 2023-2028 Road Safety Action Plan, to further explore the notion of “health zones”.
Establishments can also engage in a consultation and planning process to better develop their site, in order to contribute to safe environments for all. Because when living environments are designed in favor of the most vulnerable user, Pierre can go to join his wife with peace of mind, but it is also Hugo with his stroller and Mathilde with her wheelchair who benefit from it!
* Co-signatories: Pierre-Étienne Gendron-Landry, general manager of Société Logique; Sandrine Cabana-Degani, general director of Piétons Québec; Michael Udy, president of the Table de concertation des seniors de l’île de Montréal
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reference: www.lapresse.ca