Community Plan will shape the future of Watertown

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A new Comprehensive Plan for the City of Watertown is now being developed.
As a community stakeholder in the comprehensive planning process, Watertown for All Ages offered our perspective on the following questions:

• What is the City doing well to meet the needs of Watertown’s older residents?
• What could the City do better?
• What new opportunities should the City consider?

WAA’s responses to these questions reflect our vision of what the City of Watertown should aspire to in terms of the services it provides to benefit not only older residents but also people of all ages.
Click here to read WAA’s “Observations and Recommendations for the Watertown Comprehensive Plan Update 2022”

These recommendations have been provided as input into the city’s Comprehensive Plan process, which includes community surveys and public forums. (Click here for details.)
During the coming year Watertown will be making other critical decisions that will affect the services the city will be providing older Watertown residents. The city will be hiring a new Director of Senior Services and developing a Master Plan that will probably include the redevelopment of the Senior Center. “We hope the ideas we have offered for the Comprehensive Plan will be the basis for a broader community discussion, and we encourage everyone to get involved,” said Bob Shay, President of WAA.

Over the past decade Watertown for All Ages has been collaborating with city departments, service organizations, and providers to support and advocate for policies that will make Watertown more “age-friendly” for older adults and thereby more welcoming to individuals of all ages.

Please share your thoughts about the ideas we have suggested for the new Comprehensive Plan or any other issues that can help make Watertown an “age-friendly” community. Send your responses to: info@watertownforallages.org. 
Your input is important!

 

 

Older Adults Have Special Needs for Parking Accessibility

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Watertown for All Ages Vice-President Susan Flint and WAA “Transportation Initiative for Seniors” Advisory Committee Member Aaron Dushku spoke with Watertown officials about the special concerns of older adults at a forum about improvements for parking in Watertown Square and Coolidge Square. 

Photo at Watertown Parking Management Plan Open House

Click here to read an article about the town’s parking management study.  Maps and materials presented by the town as part of the public process are available here.  Click here to read the Parking Management Plan Executive Summary and Strategies Report (July, 2019).

Photo of parking meter covered by snow
 
The difficulty of reaching existing parking meters during the winter was one of the issues discussed at the Watertown Parking Study meetings.  Different types of parking payment options and other changes are being considered. 

Click here for an update about the possible changes. 

For questions, contact Laura Wiener, Watertown’s Senior Transportation Planner, at lwiener@watertown-ma.gov.

What Today’s “Seniors” Want

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Here’s an excerpt from the November, 2018 edition of Senior Housing News that caught our attention:

The demand by seniors to not be called “seniors” is not one of vanity. It is one of realism. With life expectancy rising and health levels improving, the traditional notion of a “senior” is no longer relevant. Seniors know that, and their lifestyle demands reflect that understanding. 

Today’s senior — and, crucially, tomorrow’s senior — wants an active lifestyle, a connection to the outside community and avenues to share their lifetime of experiences, skills, wisdom and knowledge.

Senior Housing News, November 2018