Baby boomers are retired, or will be soon, and the city of Coquitlam is coming up with ways of making recreation activities and facilities more appealing to this large, aging demographic.
Just don’t call them seniors.
Mary Morrison-Clark, Coquitlam’s manager of community recreation and culture, said sensitivities and changing attitudes about what it means to be an older adult has made even naming the city’s plan — currently referred to as the seniors services strategy — somewhat controversial.
“It is a tough one,” she said, when asked about the definition of seniors. “How do we refer to this population? You hate to label anybody but at the same time you need to… It isn’t easy.”
The boomers’ approach to aging is remarkably different from past generations, Morrison-Clark said.
There are significant variations in activity levels in older adults today versus past decades and that will have to be reflected in the recreation services people seek, she said.
“They want to keep working,” she said. “They value their physical activity. Their values towards leisure and recreation are different from the cohort that is ahead of them.”
This new generation has different attitudes about where to locate facilities and recreation opportunities for older adults. Some in the 65-and-over group prefer a separated space of their own while others are more comfortable integrating their activities in facilities that can include their families and younger friends, Morrison-Clark said.
New Canadians also have different values when it comes to seniors’ recreation activities, which will have to be taken into consideration in the drafting of the recreation strategy, she added.
“Our two pavilions [Dogwood and Glen Pine] serve only 10% of the seniors cohort,” she said. “The rest of the 90% are doing something with their leisure time.”
With people living longer, different demographic categories are starting to emerge within the older-adult crowd, according to Debbie Clavelle, Coquitlam’s community recreation manager.
The needs and activities geared toward someone who is 65 are different from those of a person who is 85, which means the city will have to have considerable variation in its programming, she added.
“We have seen in our pavilions how there is a different need and different desire for programming for the older senior versus the younger senior,” Clavelle said. “We do see that variation.”
With the 55+ BC Games coming to Coquitlam this year, both Clavelle and Morrison-Clark said now is a good time for the city to have a conversation around its recreation strategy for older adults.
A report to council on the plan was approved unanimously Monday and stakeholder consultation is expected to begin between now and the summer. While the strategy is focused on those who are 65 and older, public input will be sought from those in the 50-to-65 age group as well, according to the terms of reference. A draft strategy is expected to be completed before the end of the year and council adoption is scheduled to take place in early 2017.
@gmckennaTC
