How Age-Friendly is Halifax

Seniors praise the city’s parks, the wide array of seniors’ clubs and organizations, the thriving arts and theatrical community, and the public library system.

The rising costs associated with living in Halifax are a concern for many seniors, who are typically on a fixed income. Increasing property taxes, maintenance, and the expenses involved in retrofitting homes for disability are just a few of the concerns for home-owning seniors. The lack of adequate seniors’ housing, at all levels of care, and lengthy wait times are also worrisome, especially for those with disabilities and for caregivers who are trying to find housing for family members. While the province’s Continuing Care system offers health and social supports to seniors who want to remain in their homes, seniors report that the quality and quantity of care is significantly dependent upon seniors' ability to pay.

While seniors have a variety of ways of accessing information in Metro - local radio and television stations, community newsletters, and the internet – knowing where to look can be a challenge. And seniors were unanimous in their dislike of automated phone systems used by governments and the small print used in many government publications.

But seniors offered a number of suggestions regarding how Halifax might be made more age-friendly, including:

1. the creation of more parking spaces, particularly parking for persons with disabilities
2. the ability to claim parking expenses related to care giving
3. the lengthening of signal times related to crosswalks and/or the addition of a pedestrian-only signal light
4. the addition of more benches and washrooms in public spaces, particularly shopping centres
5. the creation of more seniors' housing at all levels
6. sensitivity training for bus drivers
7. improvement in the number of accessible buses and the enhancement of the flexibility of its scheduling
8. the inclusion of vital senior-specific information with yearly property tax bill
9. the provision of relevant information in large-print from all provincial, federal and municipal governments
10. improvements to the Continuing Care services provided by the province.

Halifax is a relatively small city which offers a comparatively relaxed pace of life...

Through the Age-Friendly Cities Project, seniors indicated that despite its many age-friendly characteristics, Halifax Regional Municipality has some work to do before it is a truly welcoming place for them. But they didn’t just leave things there. Their suggestions have laid a foundation that can be used by planners at different levels of government as strategies are formulated to help cities and communities like HRM become even more age-friendly.

Age-Friendly Cities Report - PDF

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