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The Bridge (2023) Print
2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Walkability
└ Walkability
This project will conduct four walk audits to identify and document streets that are unsafe for older pedestrians. This information will be used to make the case for future improvements.
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Chicago, IL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Walkability
Description: This project will conduct three walk audits in a busy commercial district and stage a community workshop to identify potential locations for sidewalk and crosswalk improvements, with attention given to an intersection where a new Metra commuter rail station is being built.
Brevard, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The project will expand a community garden for Hispanic families by adding a 50-foot-by-50-foot patch of tilled rows. Cooking, exercise, and gardening classes will augment the physical improvements.
Mount Vernon, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Innovative home maintenance, repair and support services
Description: To help older adults remain in their homes, the Mount Vernon Community Partnership Coalition created a tool library stocked with home repair and gardening tools. A subsequent grant allowed the tool library to move out of the town office's basement to an adjacent shed for ease of storage and tool accessibility. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the opening of the tool library, but once it did open, the gardening tools proved most popular. The Coalition recently relocated the shed and turned over tool library operations to the local Grange, which focuses on gardening and growing food. Adjacent communities also sought out the Coalition's experience to evaluate opening their own tool library.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Shawnee, OK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: For years, officials in the City of Shawnee heard complaints from residents of the historic Jefferson Terrace neighborhood about vehicles speeding and running the four-way stop sign at an intersection. To reduce vehicle speeds and increase pedestrian safety, the City replaced the ignored stop signs with a mini traffic circle, the first of its kind in Shawnee. The City collected data traffic speeds and volume before and after the circle's installation, which proved that although traffic counts remained the same, vehicular speeds slowed down. The success of the project has inspired Shawnee officials to consider similar traffic calming interventions at other locations.
Chickasha, OK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: As part of wider efforts to revitalize Chickasha's downtown, the Chickasha Economic Development Council made several streetscape improvements. To increase foot traffic to local businesses, volunteers decorated crosswalks with pavement art and created a mural. They also installed benches and bike tracks. The branding effort is meant to redefine the town's commercial district and connect it with the surrounding neighborhoods. Project organizers hope to build on the improvements in the future, adding additional public art and pedestrian infrastructure.
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