Claire Petersky, executive director of Eastside Friends of Seniors, spoke to the Sammamish City Council on Dec. 3 about the issues facing Sammamish’s senior population.

Eastside Friends of Seniors is an organization providing free, volunteer-based services to seniors who still want to live independently. Petersky said they provide transportation, shopping, housework, yard work and much more. They served 60 Sammamish residents in the last year, 55 percent of whom are low-income citizens.

Petersky explained that the majority of these seniors live in Sammamish because they are either long-time residents aging in place or they moved here to be with their children.

However, Petersky said there are many issues facing the Sammamish seniors. Two of the biggest are transportation and social isolation.

“Because we have a very auto-centric built environment, it’s very hard to drive,” she said.

The solution? Petersky asked council to improve the city’s connectivity by foot. She said this would end up benefiting the entire community and improve people’s health.

Petersky gave another suggestion of possibly building a senior center.

“The number of those over the age of 85 is projected to grow by 71 percent in our country over the next two decades,” she said.

Petersky said the senior population is a portion of the community that has been overlooked, and she urged council to look at various options that would improve Sammamish seniors overall well-being.