Guest speaker urges Townsend to frame accessibility within 'age-friendly' planning

Lois, a representative of the Health Equity Partnership of North Central Mass, told the Townsend Commission on Disability that an "age friendly" approach means planning that is intergenerational and explicitly includes people with disabilities.

"I consider age friendly, the true meaning of age friendly to mean intergenerational," Lois said, describing the partnership's draft age-friendly plan covering 27 communities, including Townsend. She noted a state projection that by 2030 roughly 25% of residents will be 60 or older and described eight domains of livability — outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, and community and health services — as the framework for local work.

Lois outlined actionable, relatively low-cost projects municipalities can highlight when seeking funding: safer, flat sidewalks and curb cuts, better-timed crosswalks, accessible public buildings (zero-step entrances and ramps), adult playgrounds, protected bike lanes, volunteer or micro-transit options, and universally designed housing features such as reinforced walls for future grab-bar installation. She also described a regional transportation coordinating council established in April 2025 and an age-friendly forum series (the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 2) designed to move from presentations toward community-led discussion and local priorities.

Town commissioners welcomed the local examples Lois provided, including telehealth hubs and intergenerational library–senior center projects, and discussed practical next steps such as documenting existing age-friendly work in the town's master plans, identifying funding sources and connecting the commission with the council on aging and other local partners.

Lois volunteered to follow up with the commission by email and to meet in person to help develop a local implementation plan and identify funding and partners.