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Tallulah, LA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The City of Tallulah set out to beautify a walkway in its central business district. The area is home to many community resources, including a grocery store, bank, post office, library, retail stores and public offices. In addition to giving people a pleasant route to walk, the project made crosswalks more visible to drivers, making crossing the street safer.
Milwaukee, WI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The Wisconsin Bike Federation wanted to challenge Milwaukee residents to think differently about their public spaces, especially their streets. To that end, the organization staged a workshop to demonstrate what a safe street looks like and talk with residents about possible improvements in their neighborhood. As part of the event, the Bike Federation conducted a pop-up demonstration showcasing temporary traffic calming interventions outside the United Community Senior Center. Using painted tires and lawn chairs, staff and volunteers created curb extensions, meant to shorten the crossing distance for pedestrians at intersections. They also used chalk paint to add bike sharrows to the street and add color to a crosswalk to make it more visible. Finally, they set up a mini roundabout designed to slow down traffic. The temporary improvements spurred city officials to apply for federal funding to make permanent changes to the street.
Houston, TX
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Many residents of Houston's Gulfton neighborhood do not own cars, making walking, cycling and public transit use common in the area -- one of the most diverse in the city. But street infrastructure didn't exist to protect cyclists from street traffic. To demonstrate the value of streetscape improvements, the City set up a pop-up bike lane on Westward Street near a local elementary school. First, the City developed a pop-up toolkit, consisting of chalk, paint, stencils and traffic cones. They then used these to create bike lanes on both sides of the street, with plans to conduct more low-cost, temporary pop-ups in the future. During the Westward Street demonstration, the City conducted a survey of residents. Following the success of the temporary bike lanes, the City broke ground on a permanent street redesign project nearby. Planners expect permanent protected bike lanes to be installed along the stretch where the demonstration took place.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Los Angeles, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Transportation Systems Change
Description: This project will increase public transportation use and mobility for older Asian American Pacific Islanders by reducing language, cultural and technological barriers to access.
Los Angeles, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Developing projects based on residents' priorities
Description: The Echo Park Film Center invited older community members to share their life stories via film. Twenty participants provided photos and memorabilia from their lives and recorded their voices, which EPFC staff and students used to create a short video for each person. The organization then held an outdoor screening to share the films with the community. One thing you realize when getting older is that your experiences are never lost, and you retrieve them at different parts of your life. And when you move on and most need it, it reappears and you are pleasantly amazed. And this is one of those experiences, participant Ida Talalla said in her video. The Echo Park Film Center gave me a chance to be creative with my reflections.
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