Created in 1965, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is an interstate, intercounty, and intercity agency that provides continuing, comprehensive and coordinated planning to shape a vision for the future growth of the Delaware Valley region. The region includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, as well as the City of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Mercer counties in New Jersey. DVRPC provides technical assistance and services; conducts high priority studies that respond to the requests and demands of member state and local governments; fosters cooperation among various constituents to forge a consensus on diverse regional issues; determines and meets the needs of the private sector; and practices public outreach efforts to promote two-way communication and public awareness of regional issues and the Commission. Our logo is adapted from the official DVRPC seal, and is designed as a stylized image of the Delaware Valley. The outer ring symbolizes the region as a whole, while the diagonal bar signifies the Delaware River. The two adjoining crescents represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey. DVRPC is funded by a variety of funding sources including grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Pennsylvania and New Jersey departments of transportation, and DVRPC’s state and local member governments. The authors, however, are solely responsible for its findings and conclusions, which may not represent the official views or policies of the funding agencies. DVRPC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. DVRPC’s website may be translated into Spanish, Russian, and Traditional Chinese online by visiting www.dvrpc.org. Publications and other public documents can be made available in alternative languages or formats, if requested. For more information, please call (215) 238-2871. As the region’s metropolitan planning organization (MPO), the Commission provides technical assistance and services to its member state, county and local governments, the private sector and the public. Delaware Valley Data is our periodic series of free data bulletins and analytical reports that provide information for DVRPC’s nine-county region and an extended 28-county data services area. Data Snapshots consider specific issues in smaller geographic areas. Series 1 of Data Snapshots examines issues related to the region’s senior residents. This report, which assesses senior mobility in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is the first in this series. For more information on Data Bulletins, Analytical Data Reports, and Data Snapshots please visit the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s website (www.dvrpc.org). i Table of Contents Introduction ……………………………………………………………………..…………………. 1 Demographics …………………………………………………………....................................... 1 Growth of the Senior Population ………………………………………………………………… 3 Locations of Senior Housing and Medical Facilities ………………………………………… 8 Transportation ……………………………………………………………………………...……… 9 Transportation Safety ………………………………………………………………………..…… 13 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………… 19 Appendix A: Bucks County Population Statistics, 2000 ………………………………………. a-1 Appendix B: Bucks County Senior Housing Facilities ………………………………………… b-1 List of Maps Map 1: Residents Age 65 and Older, 2000 …………………………………………………..….. 4 Map 2: Residents Age 65 and Older per Square Mile, 2000 ……………………………..….… 5 Map 3: Residents Age 55-64, 2000 ………………………………………………………..…….. 6 Map 4: Residents Age 55-64 per Square Mile, 2000 ………………………………………..…. 7 Map 5: Senior Housing and Medical Facilities ………………………………………………….. 10 Map 6: Public Transit Network …….………………………………………………………………. 11 Map 7: Highway Fatalities of Drivers Age 65 and Older, 2003-2005 …………………..……... 16 Map 8: Crashes per 100 Residents Ages 65 and Older, 2003-2005 ……………………..…… 17 ii List of Tables Table 1: Block Groups with the Highest Number of Residents Age 65 Years and Older …... 2 Table 2: Roadways with Sixty or More Senior-Involved Crashes, 2003-2005 ………………. 15 Table 3: Crash Data by Municipality, 2003-2005 ………………………………………………… 18 List of Figures Figure 1: Bucks County Residents Age 65 Years and Older …..………………………………. 2 Figure 2: Bucks County Population, 1990-2006 ………………………………………………… 3 Figure 3: Crashes in Bucks County, 2003-2005 ……………………………………………….. 14 Figure 4: Conditions During Countywide versus Senior-Related Crashes, 2003-2005 ……... 15 iii Introduction The number of elderly residents has increased dramatically throughout the nation and the Delaware Valley in recent years, and is expected to continue to increase at a record pace. DVRPC’s Getting Older and Getting Around (report #99015) considered accessibility and mobility needs of the region’s elderly. The Aging of the Baby Boomers: Housing Seniors in the Delaware Valley extended that work by considering issues related to housing for the elderly, as a means of offering guidance to county and municipal officials faced with a growing suburban elderly population. The Bucks County Commissioners’ Senior Task Force and the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging (BCAAA) recognize that the mobility and safety of older adults are planning priorities of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. In Fall 2008, the Bucks County Senior Task Force will hold a forum to address and improve the mobility of the County’s older residents and, in doing so, ultimately improve mobility across all ages. In April 2007, the Executive Board of the Bucks County Transportation Management Association (TMA) formally endorsed this initiative. In preparation for the Fall 2008 forum, the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging (BCAAA) asked DVRPC to assist in the development and compilation of a survey to assess mobility issues facing the County’s older adults. This survey will be helpful in determining the immediate and long-term needs and issues that define the health and mobility of adults as they age, while also engaging local municipalities in the forum process. In addition to this survey, DVRPC staff prepared this technical memorandum, the purpose of which is to provide a brief synopsis and analysis of Bucks County senior demographics and transportation statistics. The memorandum includes an overview of applicable demographics; existing senior housing and medical facilities; existing transportation facilities and services; and transportation safety, including an analysis of senior-involved crash data. This information will be used by the BCAAA’s Senior Task Force as they conduct the survey and plan their 2008 forum. Demographics In 2000, Bucks County was home to 597,600 residents. Over 74,000 of these residents (12.4%) were aged 65 years or older. Almost 40,000 residents were between 65 to 74 years old, comprising over 50 percent of all those 65 years or older. Figure 1 illustrates the percent of residents age 65 to 74 years; 75 to 84 years; and older than 85 years. The United States Census Bureau collects demographic information at many geographic levels. To assist in identifying concentrations of seniors within the county, the following analysis employs the block group level. Bucks County’s 73 individual municipalities are divided into 374 block groups ranging in size from 0.07 to 17.9 square miles. The number of block groups per municipality varies: some rural municipalities, like Wrightstown and Durham Townships, contain only one block group while more urban Figure 1: Bucks County Residents municipalities have more, including Age 65 Years and Older, 2000 Bensalem Township (with 37) and Bristol 8,554 Township (with 50). The total population per block group ranges from 46 to 6,083 residents, with a mean of 1,597 residents. 39,944 Map 1 illustrates the number of persons 25,874 65 years and older per block group. The number of residents age 65 years and older ranges from 16 to 1,226 per block 65 to 74 years 75 to 84 years 85 years and older group, with a mean of 199 residents. Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2000 Census of While it is important to understand how Population and Housing), March 2008. many people reside in a specific block group, a density analysis has also been included, to account for the varying geographic size of each block group. Map 2 illustrates the density of persons 65 years and older per block group. Table 1 lists the top ten block groups with highest total number of people age 65 years and older, the area of the block group, and the density of the 65 years and older population. Table 1: Block Groups with the Highest Number of Residents Age 65 Years and Older Age 65 Percent of Persons age years population Area 65 years and Census Block and Total age 65 and (sq. older per Municipality tract group older population older miles) square mile Buckingham Twp. 104 2 1,226 2,879 43% 10.9 112.6 Doylestown Twp. 104 3 970 3,087 31% 3.4 284.7 U. Southampton Twp. 101 1 969 2,977 33% 1.0 983.7 Middletown Twp. 100 2 926 3,123 30% 2.9 324.6 Doylestown Twp. 104 1 841 3,400 25% 1.9 444.5 Doylestown Boro. 104 2 746 1,655 45% 0.3 2271.0 Warminster Twp. 101 1 707 1,210 58% 0.3 2698.8 L. Makefield Twp. 105 1 681 4,891 14% 1.2 578.9 Quakertown Boro. 103 1 660 2,475 27% 0.6 1119.7 Doylestown Twp. 104 2 636 3,252 20% 2.5 254.2 Source: United States Census Bureau (2000 Census of Population and Housing), March 2008. 2 Lower Bucks County (including Bristol Borough and Bristol, Bensalem, Falls, and Middletown Townships) has a fairly dense population of residents 65 years and over, as well as Warminster and Doylestown Townships and Doylestown, Perkasie, and Quakertown Boroughs. Opportunities for new or expanded senior services should be explored in these locations. Transportation needs and travel patterns change as the population ages. For example, the needs of a person at age 65 may be very different than those of someone who is age 85. Appendix A identifies the number of senior citizens by block group in varying age intervals (65- 74, 75-84, and age 85 and older).