According to the most recent Census data, 10.9% of Mecklenburg County residents are 65 and over. Yet, unfortunately, many senior adults in Charlotte struggle to maintain their mobility as they age, often resulting in social isolation and inability to meet daily needs. The gaps in Charlotte’s transportation network and barriers to mobility for seniors, particularly for those seniors who rarely leave their homes, are not fully understood. Given this, Sustain Charlotte, with generous financial support from Southminster, embarked upon a year-long study to better understand these challenges and how to overcome them.    

The goals of this study were to: (1) Identify specific mobility challenges that prevent Charlotte seniors from traveling to their desired daily destinations and (2) Partner with four neighborhoods to envision how the mobility needs of their senior residents could be addressed.

This was both a research and an action project. The project’s approach and outcomes will be replicable in other Charlotte neighborhoods in the future. Sustain Charlotte engaged residents in four geographically diverse neighborhoods to identify specific senior mobility challenges through story circles and door-to-door surveying. The project evaluated all factors that may limit senior mobility including health, safety, infrastructure, family attitudes, personal finances, knowledge of transportation options, comfort level using various transportation modes, and desire to maintain personal mobility. Percentages reported below indicate the range of responses across the four participating neighborhoods.

Neighborhoods:

Over 400 people participated in the study with the primary focus being the following four neighborhoods: Lincoln Heights, Hidden Valley, Washington Heights and University Park, and West Blvd.

Key Findings:

The full survey results have been compiled into reports for each neighborhood/area. However, five trends we observed in all neighborhoods are highlighted below.

1. With a range of 24% (West Blvd) to 35% (Washington Heights and University Park), participants reported having a disability that affects their mobility. Disabilities reported included arthritis, heart disease, and asthma.

2. With a range of 18% (West Blvd) to 25% (Washington Heights and University Park), participants reported being unable to reach a destination because they could not find transportation in the past month. Locations seniors reported being unable to reach ranged from social activities like going to the home of a friend to making a doctor’s appointment.

3. While a majority reported being satisfied / very satisfied (ranging from 63% in Hidden Valley to 71% in Lincoln Heights) with their ability to leave home when they want/need to, a significant number reported being unsatisfied / very unsatisfied (ranging from 28% in Lincoln Heights to 37% in Hidden Valley). Far too many seniors reported difficulty reaching a grocery store or pharmacy. 0% of housing units in West Blvd are within 1/2 mile of a grocery store or pharmacy. Only 2% of housing units in Hidden Valley are within 1/2 mile of a grocery store and only 5% are within 1/2 mile of a pharmacy. Seniors in both of these areas reported that grocery stores and pharmacies were the most difficult destinations to reach.

4. Participants reported a strong interest in trying different modes of transportation. Seniors are very interested in social forms of transportation including riding with friends, relatives, and volunteers. Of all modes of transportation, survey participants expressed the strongest interest in trying public transportation with responses ranging from 36% in West Blvd to 43% in Lincoln Heights. Participants reported long travel time and difficulty navigating the public transportation system as two particular areas of concern. The city is making an effort to address these concerns through the Envision My Ride bus network redesign, an effort to reduce trips times, increase the frequency of service, and improve connections between different bus routes and between bus and light rail.

5. Participants reported safety concerns as a barrier preventing them from trying other modes of transportation including walking and biking. All of the participating neighborhoods include areas of high-speed vehicle traffic. Access to safe, well-lit sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike lanes were highlighted as important improvements that could be made in the community.

Using this data, we can envision an alternative scenario where all seniors have access to safe and convenient transportation. When we work in our community to address the needs of seniors, we improve transportation for everyone.

Recommendations:

Executive Summary and Neighborhood Reports: