Complete Streets Strengthen Lives

By Emma Lucken, Undergraduate Research Fellow, January 10, 2012 at 4:00 pm

For decades, street design has focused almost solely on the automobile, with sidewalks and bike lanes often a mere afterthought. This auto-centric approach, however, discriminates against the non-driving 40% of Minnesota’s population. Seniors are among those hit the hardest.

In the past ten years, over 500 pedestrians and bikers have died and 20,000 have been injured after being hit by cars in Minnesota. Many of these victims include seniors who can no longer drive, like 86-year-old Jerome Meuwissen, killed in 2008 crossing a Chaska road on the way to church.

Without safe walking options to shopping centers, museums, sporting events, and friends’ homes, many move from their neighborhoods to retirement communities, sometimes leaving the state altogether. Those that do stay put often remain house-bound, dependent on relatives or community programs for access to food and health care.

Turning in your driver’s license should not mean losing your independence. Communities must provide safe mobility options for all ages—and that means more pedestrian-friendly routes between residential, commercial, and recreational areas; zoning changes to promote mixed-use districts; main streets and historic neighborhoods' preservation; and interconnected sidewalks that accommodate citizens with disabilities.

The Complete Streets movement advocates for that very change. In fact, several Minnesotan cities and counties have already initiated policies to promote multi-use roadways that benefit bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists alike. Albert Lea, for instance, as part of its 2009 Vitality Project to make the entire community more healthy, increased its walkability by adding sidewalks between retirement communities and the grocery store, plowing sidewalks at the city’s expense, and requiring all new subdivisions and major street reconstructions to provide alternatives to motorized transportation.

As a result, the city saw many more elderly take to the streets. They used walking as a means of transportation and to connect with friends and neighbors; nearly 700 people in the community joined walking groups. Moreover, some seniors chose to move back to Albert Lea from their out-of-state retirement homes.

Complete Streets not only connect the elderly population to the community and enhance their safety and independence, but also significantly improve their fitness. The American Heart Association and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota note numerous health benefits for seniors: by encouraging physical activity, Complete Streets increase vitality, bone density, and muscle strength and decrease the risk of falling, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. As a result, many participants in the Albert Lea Vitality Project enjoyed a rise in life expectancy.

Minnesota is on the right track; legislation passed in 2010 requires Mn/DOT to implement Complete Streets for the state highway system, and last month Clay and Ottertail counties joined the 26 communities with Complete Streets policies or resolutions. However, we cannot wait to increase the safety, independence, health, and quality of life of Minnesota’s seniors. More towns need to develop local plans to improve the equity of our transportation system.