Wednesday, July 18, 2012

T-SPLOST: The senior perspective

The AJC has an item focusing on the needs of a demographic that is closely watching the Atlanta-area transportation debate: baby boomers. According to census figures, the metro Atlanta region's 20 counties is home to 1.3 million people aged 48 and older. With advancing years, people may face mobility issues as well as transportation worries (in particular, those who can no longer drive but live in areas that are not walkable and also lack public transportation). As expected, some seniors are in favor while others do not see how the referendum will benefit them.

The Atlanta Regional Commission acknowledges this trend in their website and has a section on aging resources. One of their foci is Lifelong Communities, which emphasizes housing, transportation, and healthy lifestyles throughout an individual's lifespan.

MANA is part of the Toco Hills Naturally Occurring Aging Communities (NORC). Per their website, 15.7% of residents in this area are 65 or older.  Compare that to the county at large (8.6%) and to the nation as a whole (13.3%).

AJC's coverage of the T-SPLOST vote is summarize in this page.