Last year students participating in the Outside 45 program at BICS took on the task of designing a more sustainable Bowen Island. This year, students are taking the project in a new direction by learning about challenges and barriers that exist to people of various ages on Bowen, and then re-designing it based on what they’ve learned.
Last week, these students interviewed members of SKY (Seniors Keeping Young) and heard about a variety of challenges faced by the senior members of our community.
Through the various conversations, one issue kept coming up: the need for more and better bus service on Bowen Island.
Margaret Purdy, who lives near Lake Josephine, told the students she stopped driving a few months ago. She relies on her son and his family to get around, and so does not often get the chance to visit friends on the other side of the island.
“I believe it costs about $23 to get a taxi from where I live to the ferry,” says Purdy. “Caring Circle has a team of volunteer drivers, but there are not too many of them, so it can be hard to get a ride.”
April Sear lives in Tunstall Bay, and still drives, but says that the hills on Bowen can make it challenging to get to the bus stops.
She adds that trying to get around on foot can be challenging, because of a lack of sidewalks, and clear pathways. Although she lives in Tunstall, she says she can’t get to the beach for that very reason.
“Of course, once you get onto the beach it would be challenging to maneuver in any case,” she says. “But it would be nice.”
Living on Cates Hill, Sylvia Shaw is still driving. However, she says that there is no bus that drives up there leaving her without the option to take public transportation, and says this lack does impact many of her friends on the island.
Other ideas to make Bowen Island more age-friendly:
- more restaurants, with a greater diversity of food.
- more opportunities for inter-generational connection. Susan Nelson says that in Vernon, where she lived before moving to Bowen, the local pre-schools visited seniors centres to sing songs and tell stories. She says she would like to set up some kind of regular event or activity to facilitate connections between the generations.
- more sport and fitness activities put on by Bowen Rec, geared towards seniors
