KIPLING — The Age-Friendly Kipling & District group was formed in 2019 and has been busy ever since. Recetnly, a delegation from the group, including Age-Friendly Kipling & District member Don Johnson, attended the Kipling town council meeting to provide an update on recent activities.
First, Johnson spoke about the importance of local businesses creating an age-friendly environment, noting a brochure the group has created as a valuable resource in that regard.
“It’s valuable to people of all ages, it’s valuable to the community, but also it’s valuable to the businesses themselves,” Johnson said. “I think that our stores in Kipling are very well along, from my point of view.”
Available online through the Town of Kipling website, the pamphlet for businesses includes an accessibility checklist that businesses can consult for ideas on how they can improve.
“It’s all about awareness and helping people,” Johnson said. “We’re looking forward to distributing it to the owners of the businesses in our community and having a chance to talk with them directly.”
While there is no reporting requirement for businesses interested in making changes, Johnson told council that Age-Friendly would like to know if an update is made.
“What we are asking the owners to do is, if they do decide to do something, that they let the Age-Friendly committee know, and we will try and promote that on their behalf,” he said.
Even small changes can make a big difference, according to Johnson.
“When we talk about age-friendly, whether it’s at the local or the provincial level, it is all about being aware of your fellow citizens and taking their needs into account,” he said. “I may be able to go up a flight of stairs, not everybody can. Maybe my vision isn’t what it used to be, maybe I can’t read small print on price tags; it would be nice if it was larger. It’s just awareness of the people and in the case of the businesses, it’s awareness of the people that you serve. And I suppose, in some ways, that’s the advantage of a small community—we get to know everybody at one time or another, and it’s a manageable matter of maintaining the needs as you know them and being prepared to help.”
Recent survey results
Johnson also presented council with the results of a survey Age-Friendly Kipling & District conducted last November. The assessment tool covers seven areas of accessibility in the community, asking participants to rate them on a scale. Included in the survey were sidewalks, transportation, housing, respect and social inclusion, communications and information, civic participation and employment opportunities, and community supports/health services.
“In our case, the survey is very much geared to the urban community, even though three municipalities and the three councils—one urban, two rural—all participated in the survey,” Johnson explained, noting that the RMs of Kingsley and Hazelwood are included in the group’s focus. “But the questions tend to be urban. It’s quite an exhaustive survey, actually.”
An area Johnson pointed out during the council meeting was respondent’s views of healthcare.
“One of the things that I personally found a little interesting is that there are questions concerning health care, availability, service and that type of thing. If you look at the people above 65 years old and older, they are generally pretty happy with health care. Under 40 are less than happy,” he said. “I’m thinking that all of us old folks that are over the age of 65 make more use of the health care system than those under 40, and apparently we’re happy, and apparently the ones that I thought wouldn’t be using it are displeased. Because of the numbers, it managed to bring down the satisfaction level a little bit.”
Since the survey had been completed, residents learned they would be losing two of three doctors—something that may have prompted different results had it been conducted a few months later. The results do provide feedback to the three municipalities—a snapshot of what residents see as priorities and where improvements can be made.
“This was our second such survey,” Johnson explained. “The first was in 2019, of course, that was interrupted by Covid in 2020, but at the end of the day, we used exactly the same assessment tool this time around. From that point of view, it was interesting to see where the percentages changed, if they changed at all; and if there was a change, was it positive or negative? And of course, some of the things that we identified in the first survey were addressed in the previous action plan, and happily, the respondents did see that as being positive.”
Into action
The third part of Johnson’s presentation to council was to present the action plan that resulted from the data collected in the November survey.
“The action plan grows out of the survey,” he said. “Obviously, it does illustrate the gaps that are identified in that survey and does provide some proposals for addressing those gaps. On the face of it, the action plan is addressed to the town of Kipling, because it tends to be an urban survey. However, I think that there will be places within that will benefit from urban-rural collaboration.”
Public washrooms were identified in both the 2019 and 2024 surveys, and also in the resulting action plans.
“They are still considered to be a bit of an issue,” confirmed Johnson. “The committee is suggesting that perhaps refurbishing the external washrooms on the old professional building could be considered. I don’t know whether that’s a possibility or not, but it would address some of the concerns that people have.”
At one time, the town was ahead of other communities in terms of having public washrooms.
“Kipling was way ahead of itself when those washrooms were in use,” he said of the facilities at the old professional building. “That was built in the ‘60s with public washrooms available 24/7. That’s a long way ahead of everybody, and now we’re not ahead anymore because they’re not in use.”
Another area Age-Friendly would like to see work done on is in the area of sidewalk ramps to increase accessibility.
“We would encourage council, as the sidewalk replacement program is developed, that more ramps would be included—not only in the downtown core, but in residential areas as well at corners,” Johnson said, noting the importance of having the edge of the ramp flush with the pavement surface “so that people in wheelchairs in particular, but people with walkers, people with strollers, don’t bump up against them.”
Handi-van parking was also found to be significantly better, and the group appreciates the work council has done. One improvement proposed is having yellow lines where accessible parking is, and perhaps larger signs.
Another space noted in the action plan was at the ball diamonds, which continue to provide a challenge for some people.
“The bleachers don’t necessarily have rails or steps, and so if you have a mobility issue, you will sit on the bottom tier, providing that that’s available,” Johnson explained. “But going up to the second row or the third may not be an option.”
More visibility
Age-Friendly Kipling & District will be enhancing their presence soon, both online and in terms of activities.
“The committee itself is going to be exploring the creation of a Facebook page,” Johnson said. “That’s easy to do, maintaining it is not, and so we need to find a way to commit to that, but that would raise the profile of our committee a little bit, and it would be used to promote our community’s ongoing commitment to the Age-Friendly program.”
Another plan is to hold special Wellness Days in Kipling, tentatively in April and November.
“They would actually be a wellness afternoon, and it could include any number of things. We’re looking at, what other communities are doing in that way, but we’re hoping to have two for this year, and hopefully that will just carry on,” Johnson said.
Zoning amendment
Also at the meeting, council had first reading of an amendment of Zoning Bylaw 9-2013, deleting a section regarding mixed-use in the downtown commercial district. Under the current bylaw, commercial, office, or residential uses are permitted on any floor, but no floor can have a mix of those uses.
The proposed amendment would define a mixed-use as a building with commercial or office space at grade plus one or more dwelling units above it.
Before any official changes to the zoning bylaw can happen, the town will hold a public meeting which will also be advertised two weeks in advance of the upcoming March meeting.
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