Bolinsky Addresses Senior Mobility Issues at Policy Summit

NORWALK – Representative Mitch Bolinsky (R-Newtown) served as a panelist and speaker at the Connecticut Senior Policy Summit, sponsored by AAA, last Wednesday, where he helped lead the summit’s conversation about the changing mobility needs of seniors in today’s Connecticut, where more and more are “aging in place.”

As both the Ranking Member on the legislature’s Aging Committee and head of a household that cares for an older relative, Rep. Bolinsky brought a unique perspective to the panel and shared his experience and thoughts about how to best help seniors retain their mobility in a state like Connecticut that is so spread out and does not have readily available public transit options.

Bolinsky opened the panel by saying, “As society increasingly moves to the more caring, preferred care model of aging in place, it becomes critical to understand that traditional senior bus transit systems do not and will not serve the mobility needs of most of them, particularly in towns like Newtown, where things are very spread out.  Seniors have to be able to get out and about to maintain healthy social relationships, go to the store, get to medical appointments and more. Today we’re not addressing those needs in a way that works for them.”

(from left to right: Juliet Little of DOT, Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, Diana Dias of AAA) Rep. Bolinsky discusses mobility challenges that seniors are facing in Connecticut at the Connecticut Senior Policy Summit.

Rep. Bolinsky was joined on the panel by Juliet Little of the state Department of Transportation and Diana Dias of AAA Northeast, and highlighted legislation passed by the Aging Committee this session that establishes a task force to study the delivery of services by senior centers and municipal stakeholders to senior citizens.

“Thank you to AAA for sponsoring this panel and bringing together stakeholders from across the state for a productive discussion on how to best support our state’s seniors,” said Rep. Bolinsky. “As the Ranking Member of the Aging Committee, I’ve been a leader in passing legislation that helps ours seniors remain safe and retain as much independence as possible.

“I am proud of the work the committee did this session, and look forward to continuing working with groups like AAA to pass good policy to ensure a high quality of life for our maturing residents.”

According to AAA, in 2013, there were over 460,000 licensed drivers in Connecticut over the age of 65, which made up 17.4 percent of all licensed drivers. For more information on AAA’s efforts to help seniors drive safer, please visit www.seniordriving.aaa.com.