Older People's Strategy - Newcastle City Council

97Outcome 4cOlder people can get out and about easily‘So much of my life depends on having good transport.’(The Way Ahead)Issues and prioritiesThe ability to get out and about is central to older people’squality of life. Over 50% of people aged 65+ in Newcastle donot own a car and are therefore dependent on good-quality,accessible public transport services.Transport is one of the most important issues to older peopleand yet a recent Help the Aged survey of transport provisionin England and Scotland highlighted the fact that most localcouncils do not involve older people in the developmentof Local Transport Plans. There is a need to improve theinvolvement of older people in both transport infrastructureplanning and service delivery.The quality and maintenance of pavements have a significantimpact on older people’s ability to get out and about. Unevenpavements, inconsiderate cyclists and parking on pavementscan present serious hazards to older people, particularly thosewith limited mobility or sensory impairment. Poor pavementsare cited by many older people as being the cause of a fall,which often results in admission to hospital, significant lossof confidence and social isolation or on-going poor health.Older people and people with young families would benefitgreatly from better provision of decent public toilets in boththe city centre and neighbourhood centres.