New York, for instance, which utilizes a grant-in-aid program to localities for transportation services, had developed a set of design standards sensitive to the needs of older persons. As a pre-condition of State assistance under the grant-in-aid program, localities must meet these standards in their plans to provide transportation services. The Maryland Commission on Aging recently made a set of specific recommendations to the designers of the new subway system in Metropolitan Baltimore aimed at ensuring the comfort, convenience and safety of older persons who will use the system. Both Connecticut and Wisconsin have acted to ensure that more ramps are available for older persons. The Connecticut State Department on Aging is supporting efforts to increase the use of ramps on railroad platforms. The 1972 Wisconsin legislature enacted legislation that requires ramps at specified maximum intervals and certain locations along street curbs in any new construction. Georgia has also moved to improve access for older persons who are traveling by planning rest areas that enable all older persons to fully utilize the facilities. Hawaii has attempted to make traveling easier for the elderly by developing improved signs and by providing information dissemination at the local level. Finally, Florida has launched a vigorous effort to improve its design standards to minimize the transportation problems faced by the elderly. The Florida State Department of Transportation designed a Safe-T-Push door for buses that provides a secure hand hold for the elderly, and a new low-floor bus, with attempts being made now to construct and test a prototype. Both Florida and Wisconsin have developed detailed vehicle design features that make vehicles more convenient for older persons. 4. Research in Transportation Problems of Older Persons In addition to the action taken since the Conference, research efforts already initiated ensure that such action will continue in the years to come. The New York Department of Transportation is undertaking an economic analysis of all State programs that have transportation components, with an eye towards improving them for the elderly. Oklahoma is conducting a demographic study of the numbers and location of older persons who are in need of transportation. In Wisconsin, the State Department of Transportation has provided staff assistance to the Governor's Committee on Mass Transit, which is investigating the transportation needs of the elderly, both rural and urban. Florida's State Department has followed a similar path, and has contracted with Florida State University to identify the total transportation needs of older persons in the State. As these needs are identified, demonstration projects to meet them will be designed, and following an evaluation of these projects, a statewide transit improvement program will be implemented. --578 |