The District of Squamish council has endorsed a community plan to make the town more age-friendly.
Described as a “benefit to the community,” the Age-Friendly Community Plan was unanimously supported by councillors at the May 13 committee of the whole meeting.
District equity and inclusion advisor Keely Kidner said that the project had been in the works for the past year.
“The Age-Friendly Community Plan is based on the World Health Organization's framework, and this framework is recognized internationally and used extensively in B.C. and the rest of Canada,” Kidner said.
“Age-friendly planning is an emerging best practice for supporting aging in the community, and it focuses not on individuals specifically, but on making public spaces and developing policies that ensure seniors are valued and protected, can access everything that they need, and can form an active and welcome part of civic and social life.”
Kidner said that although the plan is focused on seniors, age-friendly communities benefit everyone.
According to the report to council, a senior is 65 or older.
The District began community engagement in June 2024 to gather feedback on how seniors felt about life in Squamish currently, and what could be done to improve livability.
Here’s what they had to say:
On the physical and built environment
According to the report, the biggest concern for respondents was streetscapes.
“They identified the lack of sidewalks in areas like Valleycliffe, or bumpy and uneven sidewalks in downtown, as significant impediments to their mobility. This was particularly true for those who use mobility devices,” reads the report.
Respondents said they enjoyed the network of trails and parks, especially Sp’akw’us Feather Park.
“They also expressed praise for the Squamish Public Library and for library services, stating they only wished the library offered more mid-day programming geared to seniors,” reads the report.
“They also requested a number of updates, upgrades, and expansions to Brennan Park Community Centre and its surroundings. Finally, they wished they had fuller access to the resources and spaces of The 55+ Centre, such as the kitchen.”
To address this, the Age Friendly Community Plan suggests the District investigate re-opening The 55+ Activity Centre kitchen, consider library daytime programming for seniors, a potential library expansion and ensure that all new sidewalks and renovations of existing sidewalks prioritize accessibility.
For transportation, traffic safety and mobility, the number one issue respondents were most concerned about was traffic-pedestrian safety.
“They advocated for traffic calming measures in Squamish, particularly near senior residences and in downtown as a whole. They also requested increased lighting at high-frequency intersections,” reads the report.
Public transportation was also an important issue.
“Residents cited a lack of buses and bus stops, safety and comfort issues at stops … and inconsistent late-night service as concerns they have with public transportation. They commented that HandyDART was excellent when it worked, but that it was difficult to access at times,” the report said.
The final issue residents had on the topic was downtown parking.
“They requested that parking be better connected to sidewalks and walkways, that more accessible parking be built downtown, and that the general lack of convenient parking be addressed. Considering the District’s discussion of introducing pay parking to downtown Squamish, several residents asked that seniors be allowed to park for free.”
The Age Friendly Community Plan suggests remediating these issues by improving mobility connections to bus stops frequently used by seniors, improving pedestrian safety at crossings by raising crossings, implementing traffic calming, and increasing parking stalls downtown.
On social inclusion and participation
On the topic of respect, social inclusion and cultural safety, respondents expressed a strong need for respect among community members and that people of all ages and social groups should be included.
“Several participants expressed a belief that ageism is a factor in Squamish, contributing to a lack of participation among seniors, or a discounting of seniors’ perspectives,” reads the report.
Feedback from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) Elders and members of the Sikh community also spoke to issues of respect, social inclusion, and cultural safety.
“Sikh Elders, for example, reported they felt unwelcome at The 55+ Centre due to differing cultural expectations and language barriers. This extended to concerns about communication issues with emergency responders,” the report said.
“Squamish Nation Elders reported concerns about emergency response teams finding properties due to inconsistencies in mapping. Squamish Nation Elders shared recommendations to increase education, engagement, and cultural awareness.
Finally, Elders wanted to see Squamish Nation history and culture more visibly incorporated in signage, naming conventions, and public art and memorials.”
To help with this, the Age Friendly Community Plan suggests the District include Nation cultural and historical information in District communications when appropriate; deepen engagement with equity-deserving groups to understand cultural safety needs in District events and spaces and provide information in plain language and in multiple languages where possible.
On support services
Respondents said that while they appreciate existing community support and health services, there are “not enough resources in place for an aging population.”
“[They] highlighted gaps in support services such as: access to primary care, fall prevention programs, home support, transportation to medical services outside Squamish, retirement communities incorporating dementia care, accessible and low-income housing that would enable seniors to age and remain in place,” the report states.
The Age Friendly Community Plan suggests that the District advocate at regional and provincial levels for increased and improved medical services in Squamish; continue to work with BC Transit to develop regional transportation infrastructure that allows access to medical services, and work with the provincial government to increase extended care options in Squamish.
Council comments
Mayor Armand Hurford threw his support behind the plan, saying that “an age-friendly community is a community that works well for all of us.”
“We're all, hopefully, headed to the senior category and would benefit from this when we get there, if we're not there already. I think this will serve us well to inform our work going forward, to ensure that we are making investments that do benefit everybody in the community,” he said.
He also said that he was happy District staff worked with the Nation and the Sikh community to gather feedback from voices not always heard.
“I'm really happy that as an organization, we are actively seeking out those voices that are hard to find, and we don't see those voices representing a lot of our outreach efforts on our various initiatives,” he said.
Coun. John French said that he “generally supported all the goals and objectives in the plan.”
“I'm looking forward to the implementation of the action items. A few of the recommendations jumped out at me as potentially being pretty easy to implement. As an example, ... it seems to me that creating seniors programming at the Squamish Public Library makes great sense,” he said.
Looking ahead, Kidner said that staff will work internally to find opportunities to implement the plan amongst current and future District projects.
“This plan is really not about creating additional projects, but finding ways to efficiently address the objectives by aligning with what staff are already planning and doing as much as possible,” she said.
Any additional budget implications will be brought to Council through the District’s financial planning process.
For more information on the Age Friendly Community Plan, visit the District of Squamish website.
