(Updated January 2008)

Lexington-Fayette County is actively participating in a national initiative with the Partners for Livable Communities organization based in Washington, D.C. This project is called the Aging in Place Initiative.  As cities continue to come to grips with a growing senior population, they are wrestling with how to help people stay in their homes longer and a wide variety of other issues. This national dialogue is aimed at strengthening our capacity to address our own needs.

Lexington is one of nine cities participating in this project. The objective of the Initiative is for each community to develop its own Aging in Place agenda. The final product will be a culmination of information from the nine participating cities. This information will be used to develop three generic blueprints that can be used to make cities throughout the nation more "elder-friendly". These blueprints will be geared toward 1) large cities with inner-city neighborhoods, 2) suburban settings and 3) mid-size cities.

The Banner Issue of the Lexington-Fayette Aging in Place Initiative is Engaging Aging.  Its mission is to Envision, Plan, Build and Sustain a Community of Purposeful Engagement throughout the Lifespan.

Already Aging in Place is having an impact on our community.  As a result of the third

“Engaging Aging” Neighborhood Focus Group held in the Meadowthorpe Neighborhood during the first year of the program, we have a new transportation initiative, the Independent Transportation Network of the Bluegrass (ITNBluegrass).  This initiative is an innovative, community supported, sustainable transportation program for adults aged 60 and older and the vistually impaired.

ITNBluegrass, when fully implemented, will incorporate the following features:

• rides available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
• rides available within the service area for ANY purpose
• rides available with no advanced notice required
• scholarship miles available for qualified individuals.

For more information about ITNBluegrass, go to the following link: www.itnbluegrass.org.  For information about the National ITN network, go to:  www.itnamerica.org.