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Borough of Dunellen (2019) Print
2019 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Trails
└ Trails
To make the half-mile trail in Columbia Park more accessible, the Borough of Dunellen installed 12 ADA-compliant benches. Volunteers added mulch around each bench and planted trees, shrubs and pollinator-friendly vegetation, with plaques identifying each plant. They also painted a footbridge connecting the part to a residential neighborhood. The project engaged Dunellen's mayor and Borough Council, along with the Dunellen Shade Tree Commission, the parks and recreation and public works departments, the Dunellen Arts and Culture Commission, the Dunellen Senior Club, the local football team and the Dunellen Municipal Alliance. Since installation, the Borough has seen a 44 percent uptick in trails users, as well as a 50 percent increase in older adults visiting the trail.
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Tampa, FL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Trails
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Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Sullivan, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Trails
Description: Sullivan has a network of hiking trials but lacked options for people with mobility challenges. To give residents of all ages and abilities a place to walk, Age-Friendly Sullivan installed an accessible walking trail at the Sorrento-Sullivan Recreation Center. First, volunteers worked to prepare an underused area on the rec center's property, creating drainage culverts and mowing grass. Then they spread crushed gravel to create a hard, flat trail surface. Before, the recreation center offered several amenities aimed at children and youth, including a playground, basketball courts and a skate park. The trail represents an offering people of all ages -- including older adults -- can use. Since creating the trail, the age-friendly initiative has worked with partners to add benches, fitness equipment and a story walk along the route.
Portland, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Trails
Description: This project upgraded the Canco Woods trail, making it the first wheelchair-accessible forested trail in Portland. Volunteers widened the trail and smoothed and hardened its surface. They also replaced a narrow footbridge, installed two benches and added signs announcing the trail's accessibility. Inspiration for the project came after conversations with residents about low usage of local trails. These discussions focused on accessibility needs for people who used wheelchairs, walkers, canes and strollers. Now residents who had never visited the trail before are enjoying its pond, wetlands and pine groves.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Berkeley Heights, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Improved wayfinding
Description: Officials with the Berkeley Heights Township have long worked to encourage residents to walk. To that end, an award-winning master plan focuses on making the community more pedestrian-friendly. To better inform people about local walking trails, the Township created the Trailblazer project. The wayfinding initiative installed sign kiosks at four locations, including the municipal complex, two parks and the community YMCA. Each displays maps of the township and its trails and provides paper copies for passersby to take with them.
Metuchen, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Businesses in Metuchen's downtown struggled during pandemic-related shutdowns in 2020. To help with their recovery and resilience, the Metuchen Downtown Alliance made investments in public outdoor spaces, turning a block of New Street into a pedestrian-oriented New Streetery. After the Borough Council voted to ease zoning requirements, the Alliance converted street parking spaces into parklets. This created outdoor space for businesses -- including restaurants, shops and fitness studios -- to operate safely. To accommodate diners, the Downtown Alliance purchased over 100 tables with chairs, as well as infrared heaters and lighting. In the summer months, New Street closed to vehicle traffic on weekends, with partial street closures continuing into the winter. Project organizers say that although COVID-19 has since waned, walkability and outdoor dining remain part of Metuchen's downtown culture.
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