Check out this great article from the Washington Post on the problems that seniors are facing as they become too old to drive and find themselves becoming virtual shut-ins in the car-dependent suburbs. The narrowing of transportation options has a direct impact on the livability of their communities.

The generation that gave birth to suburbia and the two-car garage is reaching the age at which driving, for many, no longer seems like such a swell option…. “The concern is that when they no longer can drive, they will find themselves trapped in their homes in suburban neighborhoods where there are no sidewalks, or, if there are sidewalks, there’s no place to walk to”

While specific to the Washington, DC metro area, it certainly applies to Kansas City.  Seniors in KC are in an even tougher situation since our region lacks the suburban public transit network present in DC.  They also have many more walkable suburban town centers with services like groceries, doctors, shops, etc. in close proximity.

KC seniors who want to remain independent without driving are mostly limited to the Downtown/Plaza/Brookside corridor.  While there are a few fledgling possibilities in the suburbs (e.g. Zona Rosa, Downtown Lee’s Summit, or Prairie Village), these areas are islands unto themselves and lack the full range of services for shopping, health care, and entertainment.  Grocery stores and hospitals are usually beyond walking distance of even the best suburban downtown district.

Reforming our land use policies to encourage development of more mixed-use suburban town centers would give suburban seniors better options for “aging in place” in the communities where they have lived for decades.   Linking these suburban town centers with public transit would give seniors mobility around the metro area. People shouldn’t be uprooted from their existing social networks simply because they stop driving.