Saskatoon business owner welcomes potential creation of ‘senior zones’

There’s a steady stream of phone calls and customers at Sage Seniors’ Resources at Market Mall in Saskatoon — people looking for everything from walkers and specialized canes to scooters and wheelchairs.

The business has been around for the past 22 years in the Nutana Suburban Centre. Owner Shirley Porter says the neighbourhood is home to one of the largest concentrations of people aged 55 and over in the country.

Those residents want to get out and about; the mall houses not only a grocery store but restaurants, a drug store, a food court and other businesses very close to a host of retirement homes, long-term care and assisted living and group homes.

“We’ll have people come into the mall several times a day for coffee, lunch and so on, on mobility scooters, power chairs but also using walkers,” said Porter. “So when people are going to cross a street and they’re not as fast as they were when they were 19, they need a little bit more time. That’s the safety part of it.”

Porter is all for the creation of “senior zones” — featuring traffic measures — in areas where there is a high concentration of seniors in Saskatoon. At Monday’s transportation committee meeting, a recommendation was made for council to consider the possibility.

According to a report to the committee, the zones could include things like better signage and lighting, traffic calming measures, and longer pedestrian crosswalk times.

Porter said it’s not just about older people feeling a little bit safer when they go out, but for drivers to understand that they should take more care and caution on the road.

“There’s a reluctance to almost put your life at stake to get out and about when it takes you longer,” she said.

Porter described coming across an accident involving one of her customers who was on a scooter and who was hit by a vehicle while in the middle of a crosswalk.

“He was taken by ambulance (to the hospital). Luckily he was OK, but his scooter was totalled. So he had a flag, he had all the safety things and he was in a crosswalk,” she said.

Some customers will even wait for Access Transit buses to take them from their homes to the front doors of the mall, especially in the wintertime, so they have less of a risk of falling on a sidewalk or curb, or being hit by a vehicle.

Porter is happy the city is taking the time to consider the needs of seniors in the area. The matter is expected to go before city council Nov. 29. If approved, according to a report from administration, cost of new signage could be around $25,000.