Bryn Mawr NRP Phase II Planning

Senior Focus Group

Thursday, January 27, 2-3:30 PM

In addition to Pam Weiner, facilitator, and Greg Lecker, note-taker, attendees include: Barb Zipperman, Mary Lou Hill, Barb Bearman, Linda King, Sol Jacobs, Dorothea Moga, Dot Lilja, Anna Verborg, and Lois Schurke.

Neighborhood strengths:

Parks

Schools—right in the area

Commitment of community – a helping hand is there, though one has privacy as well

With this comes a sense of security

Stability/Longevity

Location; City amenities

Proximity to the U of M, Downtown Minneapolis

State representative (Margaret Anderson Kelliher) as a neighborh

Beauty of neighborhood, for example Cedar Lake

Neighborhood businesses, especially Cuppa Java; their inclusiveness – not just youth gathering spaces Liberal bent/progressiveness – speaks to a concern for others

Grocery store (Bryn Mawr Market) is open 365 days a year; if not 24/7 then they’re 16/7

- you can count on them having the item that you’ve forgotten

Everything

That you can walk to a place to swim

Bus service, even with the cuts

Bryn Mawr Bugle (electronic version is nice; since my hands shake)

Bookmobile

Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church; always has been very liberal; it’s a community and asset itself

Variety of housing styles; options

Neighborhood weaknesses:

The housing variety doesn’t extend to a variety of housing price: all prices are increasing

The rise in price range means that it’s difficult to enter the neighborhood housing market if you are on either end of the age spectrum – young or old – if you are not already in the neighborhood.

On the other hand, situation is the same all over.

In the old days, there were more families – grandma looked after the children and the children could look after grandma.

On the other hand, there are instances (Morris-Engel) where the grandparents have moved into the neighborhood into the parents house and now are near the grandchildren.

Wish we had more housing like Area 2 – single level living –it’s like Golden Valley, only nicer. However, the older people there are not moving out; so there is not much availability of housing.

Too much traffic volume and speed on Penn Avenue. School bus speeds and volume is excessive.

Not pleased with the bus service.

Glenwood Avenue bus service cuts (now not available during mid-day – only in AM and PM)

Multitude of lakes and parks means that no one lives there. On the other hand, Prudential/Target offices draw more bus users.

Traffic: speed and safety issues: what we need is a police car sitting on Penn Avenue

I394 – need signage at the intersection of Penn Avenue and the South Frontage Road: it’s difficult to judge what oncoming cars are going to do. Eliminate the use of the eastbound exit ramp and eastbound entry ramp as an alternate route to I394. It’s dangerous to have cars unexpectedly continuing straight ahead through the intersection to the eastbound on-ramp.

Inadequate parking to allow growth of Downtown Bryn Mawr businesses

Backup of I394

Traffic stagnating and idling is polluting air

Urban sprawl. I394 expansion from highway 12 was to have solved the traffic problem.

Anyone west of 169 should have to pay heavy tolls.

Corner vacant space (NW corner of Penn Avenue and Cedar Lake Road): the space is sloppy; it needs a purpose.

St. Louis Park razed some buildings to create more parking for their commercial district at different locations – near restaurants and theaters.

We don’t have a lot of money to be able to make substantial improvements.

Proximity to Bryn Mawr Elementary and Anwatin Schools – youth loitering; truancy. Increase awareness of who to call to address this problem.

Odd low flying helicopters

What issues are important or will be important in the future?

Senior support so we can stay in our homes

Senior group to meet socially

Raise awareness of someone that needs one to watch over them

Acknowledge our vulnerability

A “lifeline” – device that would place a call to a pre-designated contact

Bryn Mawr could lead by example

Neighborhood has changed from 1950’s family feeling to a “bedroom” community today

Bryn Mawr lacks proximity to a senior center – on the other hand the Target Skyway Senior Center is in Downtown Minneapolis. On the other hand, there is no bus service during the day. You don’t want to depend on Metro Mobility unless you really like waiting.

As one stays in one’s house, there is deterioration, and the house can become unsafe. Seniors may not know who to call for help.

Alzheimer’s Disease is scary – need for live-in permanent help

Residents need to become aware of seniors who may need assistance, even with something as infrequent as completing an absentee ballot when one cannot see.

We need a resource bank – maybe like a “neighborhood mother” or a Vida

However, one person alone is not a backup system.

Advertise the Senior Linkage Line (612) 333-2433 in every Bryn Mawr Bugle and on website

It’s like a “First Call For Help”

We need more commercial services: “a restaurant”, “a bakery”, “a drugstore”, “a deli”

One service that BMNA could provide:

A shuttle that travels a consistent route through the neighborhood and then proceeds to a grocery store, to a drug store/Target or to a senior center (throughout the whole neighborhood)

-Like Hopkins offers. If I got old enough that I had to stop driving

Senior ombudsman -- a resource who can make house calls to assist senior in researching resources like: home handyman, shoveling, snow plowing, lawn care, cleaning out the egress window well

What if Bryn Mawr contracted with a person(s) to be the exclusive neighborhoods’ exterior care

Provide free classified for youth willing to do yard work or snow shoveling

Hire a service to follow the snow plows and to open up driveways after the snow plow has passed and has blocked the driveway. Couldn’t the city send out a little jeep with a snow plow blade? Or couldn’t the snow plow lift the blade to avoid depositing snow at the driveway?

Years ago, the city used to plow the sidewalks (albeit with a horse-drawn snow plow). How could the city have afforded to provide this city even during the rough financial times of the early 20^th century and not be able to provide this service now? Of course, back then, we had mail delivery twice a day, too!

Penn Avenue snow plowing – it’s impossible to keep the sidewalk open when the county plows the snow continually further over.

Most important issue that BMNA can address?

Bugle does a fairly good job; maybe it could have a question and answer column?

Couldn’t the youth be called upon to assist the seniors: shoveling; cutting grass

Guiding development: “life-cycle” housing; parking ramp linked to downtown Bryn Mawr via bus?

Senior high rise? Though that can bring its own problems: smells, smoking, noise

Fruen Mill – what is the likelihood that this will happen and may include senior living options?

Is it appropriate for BMNA to solicit developers, like Cornerstone of Hopkins, to come and develop the type of senior housing that we desire? There may be developers interested in this type of housing.

Owning housing vs. renting?

Still like one’s own house; some seniors would like to remain in their own home until they die “you would have to shoot me to get me out of my house”

Dislike relying on another for maintenance, etc.

We could at least do research on different models for senior housing; or ask NRP for research that has been completed. Any federal money for a pilot study? Any good books on the subject?

Research Land Trusts, land banking, support services

Research Robbinsdale housing – 163 units, 55 years and older age group, housing prices are less than $100,000.

Research Ebenezer and Lutheran housing models

Possibly research Monterey co-housing in St. Louis Park

Try contacting the Minnesota Senior Federation; checking the www.

Some seniors do and others don’t want to live in housing that is exclusively for seniors.

Bryn Mawr could lead by developing a Single Payer Universal Health Coverage program by placing its residents (with a range of ages and health conditions) into a group for insurance purposes.

An afternoon meeting time does work well for most seniors. However, we may want to delay the meeting time to later afternoon or until 6 or 6:30 PM to accommodate those seniors who are still working (especially from late Spring through early Fall while it’s still daylight; or provide transportation)