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Camden Community Partnership (2022) Print
2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
└ Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
To help people reach Cramer Waterfront Park on foot or by bicycle, this demonstration project tested several street safety improvements. Organizers added crosswalks and temporary curb ramps to a nearby intersection. They also swapped bike and parking lanes in an effort to separate cyclists from vehicle traffic. The Camden Community Partnership collected data to evaluate the traffic calming interventions, which they will use to inform permanent infrastructure upgrades.
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Indianapolis, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Indianapolis has several dangerous intersections where 120 pedestrians have died or been injured over the past ten years. The Martin Luther King Multi-Service Center worked with local teenagers to paint the words 120 Is Enough on the pavement at these locations. Organizers say the message is meant to calm traffic and encourage drivers to be more mindful of pedestrians, cyclists and runners. Installation involved working with the city's Department of Public Works to negotiate local rules governing crosswalk designs. Since completing the crosswalks, project organizers say other local advocates have reach out for guidance to successfully create their own artistic crosswalks.
Cedar City, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The Iron City Tourism Bureau hoped to improve walkability along three blocks of the Cedar City's University Boulevard. To do this, the organization created an artistic crosswalk at a busy intersection, which both beatified the crossing and made it more visible to drivers. The Bureau also commissioned a mural nearby to commemorate the city's connection to Utah's national parks. To encourage people to walk and gather, they installed benches along the boulevard. New signs directed pedestrians to nearby attractions and services. Following the improvements, the Bureau reported slower traffic speeds. More murals and crosswalk art are in the works and the Bureau is advocating for bike lanes in the neighborhood.
West Hartford, CT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The Town of West Hartford enhanced safety for pedestrians at two major intersections by installing warning light systems. Designed to increase drivers' awareness of people in the crosswalk, the solar-powered lights flash once pedestrians hit a button, indicating they are about to cross. The intersections -- one near a senior center and the other near an elementary school -- do not have traffic lights. Ahead of their installation, town staff distributed flyers and held trainings to educate the public about the crosswalks. Project organizers say the upgrades are popular with the community and the Town has received requests for similar crossing signals at other intersections.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Camden, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: A vacant lot on North Camden's waterfront was unappealing and attracted illegal dumping. The Camden Community Partnership decided to give the lot new life by turning it into a gathering space for residents of all ages. As part of larger efforts to activate the space, the Partnership commissioned a local artist to create a mural onsite. The artist asked older adults questions about their community and used their responses to inform the mural's design, which volunteers helped paint onto a nearby building. Since its completion, project organizers say the mural has served as a model for other local public art projects, with three additional murals in the works. The new greenspace has also tied into other community building work, including development of trail along the Delaware and Cooper Rivers.
Philadelphia, PA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public spaces improvements to increase high-speed internet availability
Description: To help older adults access the internet, the Center in the Park created a cafe onsite, which offers free Wi-Fi access to visitors.
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