Responding to seniors, CALA also wants city to reduce barking noise at dog runs
The president of the Laval Action Commission for Seniors (CALA), François Pilon, accompanied by Action Laval mayoral candidate Frédéric Mayer unveiled the commission’s preliminary report during a press briefing held on May 13.
The report’s various recommendations are the result of several months of consultation with groups of Laval seniors, non-profit associations dedicated to retirees, as well as representatives of seniors living in Laval.
Focus on seniors’ needs
CALA, an initiative undertaken by the municipal opposition party, has a mandate to consult, identify and take into account the needs of Laval’s seniors, while encouraging them to participate in the city’s development. The results of the consultations will help develop Action Laval’s electoral platform for the November elections.
“With the recommendations in the report, we will be able to concretely improve the quality of life of the elderly and encourage them to remain healthy at home for as long as possible,” noted the president of CALA, François Pilon, a former NDP MP from Laval. “Action Laval is already putting pressure on the city on various issues affecting seniors,” he said.
Proposals taken seriously
According to Pilon, the city has already begun following at least one proposal from Action Laval, namely that the Société de transport de Laval (STL) bring back bus service for certain seniors’ residences. With that in mind, the party believes that CALA’s consultations are already bearing fruit, helping to find solutions to improve the lives of Laval’s seniors.
“Laval has been an age-friendly municipality since 2014,” said Mayer, noting that the city decided to become a standing member of Municipalités Amies des Aînés more than a decade ago. “However, CALA quickly realized that the current administration was disconnected from the reality and needs of its Laval seniors,” he added. “We have a duty to act with respect and take care of them. It is the foundation of a good society.”
From ideas into policies
It’s expected that the report’s recommendations will eventually be integrated into muncipal policies to better safeguard the elderly, so that Laval truly becomes an age-friendly city.
Encouraged by the positive response they encountered during the consultation tour, CALA’s members suggested they could soon be back on track to meet with other groups of senior citizens and organizations.
During the presentation of the report, Pilon and Mayer were accompanied by the president of the FADOQ Laval region, Gilles Sénécal, and the general director of the Laval Association for Adapted Transport (ALTA), Annie Des Rosiers.
Among the recommendations in the report, it is suggested that speed limits be lowered in zones near senior citizens’ retirement residences, as has long been the case in zones near schools.
Other recommendations
As well, it is recommended that at major street intersections, the illuminated countdown timer at pedestrian crossings should be adjusted upwards, and that right turns be prohibited so as to allow people with reduced mobility more safety when they cross.
In addition to these suggestions, the commission also heard complaints from seniors in Laval about nuisances associated with dog parks, where incessant barking is said to annoy seniors who live nearby. As a result, the commission is recommending that the City of Laval implement anti-noise measures at dog parks, including noise-reducing barriers or walls.
