28 June 2008
    Town Council Personnel
    Tanjong Pagar Town Council
    
    Good morning Sir/Mdm,
    RE: Report on the recent investigation on the level of
    elderly-friendliness in Tanjong Pagar.
    
    We are …….and …… from Raffles Institution. We are now studying on ageing population and we have done an investigation on the level of elderly-friendliness in Tanjong Pagar Plaza. We want to report our findings in this investigation so that the town council can serve the elderly people better.
    Tanjong Pagar Plaza is one of the oldest building areas in Singapore where many elderly people live in. Therefore, it is crucial for Tanjong Pagar Plaza to be elderly-friendly due to the large number of elder people live in this area. However, through our investigation, we find out that Tanjong Pagar Plaza is not very elderly-friendly.
    The criteria we base on are whether lifts provide enough convenience for the elderly people, whether the market is safe for the elderly people, whether the supermarket can prevent the elderly people from tumbling, whether there are benches for the elderly people to rest, whether the equipment in the fitness corner are suitable for the elderly people, whether the clinics are locate near to the HDB buildings and whether the young people are willing to help the elderly people. All our findings are accompanied with pictures which can be found in the visual presentation.
    There are many things in Tanjong Pagar that are elderly-friendly. Elderly people do not have much strength and they might accidently tumble over when carrying heavy stuff. Therefore, it will be convenient if there is something that can prevent that tragedy from happening. In the picture shown in our visual presentation, a man-made slope is built so that the elderly people will not likely to tumble over when exiting the supermarket. This is one of the aspects of being elderly-friendly.
    As we have stated in the paragraph above, elderly people do not have enough strength and they might get tired easily. If there are not enough benched in the neighbourhood, elderly people will not have the chance to rest before continuing with their task. Fortunately, referring to the picture in our presentation, many benches are built along the pavement so that the elderly people get the chance to rest at any time they want. This is another aspect of being elderly-friendly.
    Elderly people tend to get sick easily. Therefore, it will be convenient for the elderly-people if clinics are built near the buildings so that the elderly-people will visit them very conveniently. Referring to the picture shown in our presentation, there are two clinics, one traditional Chinese clinic and the other Western clinic, are built just below the HDB flats. The elderly people can visit either of them conveniently without travelling for a long distance. This is also an aspect of being elderly-friendly.
    However, although there are many things that are elderly-friendly, many other things in Tanjong Pagar are not so elderly-friendly. Lifts in Tanjong Pagar do not provide enough convenience for the elderly people. Elder people do not have enough strength to climb stairs and therefore, lifts should stop at every floor. However, as in the picture shown, the lift does not stop at every floor and furthermore, it can only reach up to 22 storey. There are elderly people who live on 24 storey and they are forced to climb two levels which is actually a labourious task to them. Therefore, the lifts do not provide enough convenience for the elderly people and this is one of the aspects of being not elderly-friendly.
    Elderly people are not as strong as us and the consequence will be very dire if they tumble over. Therefore, we should do our best to prevent such miserable accidents from happening. However, in the picture, we can clearly see the amount of water on the floor of the wet market. Wet market is a common place where most of the elderly people visit and it might cause them to tumble over. This is an aspect of being not elderly-friendly.
    Elderly people are not as strong as us and so they must over exercise to keep their body fit. Therefore, some equipment suitable for elderly people should be built in the fitness corner. However, by referring to the picture in the presentation, we can clearly find out that nearly all the machines found in the fitness corner are not suitable for the elderly people who might injure themselves if they use those machines. As a result, the elderly people cannot exercise regularly. This is also an aspect of being not elderly-friendly.
    Elderly people are not able to carry out heavy task all by themselves and sometimes they need the help of other young people. Young people should also help the elderly people who are doing some heavy chores. However, in the picture we have taken near the wet market, an old lady is pushing some heavy stuff with much difficulty but the young people around her choose not to help. This shows the young people’s bad attitude towards helping the elderly people. This is another aspect of being not elderly-friendly.
    Through the investigation we find out that although there are many elderly people live in Tanjong Pagar, the place is not elderly-friendly. We have discussed and come out with some plans to improve the level of elderly-friendliness in Tanjong Pagar. We hope the Town Council will read our plans carefully and thoroughly.
    That lift does not stop at every storey creates much inconvenience to the elderly people. The problem can be solved by renovating the lift so that it stops at every storey. In this way, elderly people will not face the problem of climbing stairs and they will not tend to fall easily.
    As the floor of the market is wet, elderly people may slip over. The Town Council should employ some cleaners to dry the floor frequently to ensure the safety of all the people visiting the market. The Town Council should also tell the vendors that they should not spill so much water on the floor as it can result in casualties and mishaps.
    In order to live longer, the elderly people have to keep themselves fit. However, all the equipment found in the fitness corner is not suitable for the elderly people. Therefore, the Town Council should build new machines which are suitable for the elderly people in the fitness corner. In this way, the elderly people can keep themselves fit and enjoy a longer and healthier life.
    The most crucial problem, as we feel, is the fact that young people nowadays are not willing to help the elderly people. They view the elderly people filthy and uneducated and consider helping them as a dirty work. If all the young people were to become like that, our society will not be elderly-friendly at all. Therefore, as we feel, the Town Council should hold some public lectures to educate the youngsters on their duty to care and look after the elderly people. Only when everyone becomes elderly-friendly then shall our society be one.
    Thank you for your kind attention, we hope our letter can help you a lot.
    
    Sincerely,
    …….and ……