Wheat Ridge, CO

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety

Description: Localworks has been working for years to improve Wheat Ridge's 38th Avenue corridor and create a main street destination for the city. Its Activate 38 program aims to promote safe walking, biking and wheelchair rolling along 38th Avenue west of Kipling Street. To support this goal, Localworks staged the Roll, Stroll and Strut Fest at a local park. Local partners included the city parks and recreation department and Bicycle Colorado. As part of the event, Localworks obtained a permit to take over a street near the park to showcase planters, bollards and other devices that can calm traffic, making streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchair users. Localworks continues to promote healthy mobility along 38th Avenue and hosted an all-abilities bike cruising event in the neighborhood in 2021.

Wheat Ridge, CO

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Micromobility enhancements/management

Description: Older adults in Wheat Ridge needed outdoor recreation and social connection, especially those with mobility challenges. To address this, the organization renovated a former firehouse into a community space and staging area for its Trishaw Cycling Program. The retrofit created a welcoming hub for rides led by volunteer pilots, giving participants a chance to explore the outdoors and reconnect. One rider said they love "having the wind in their hair and being reminded of riding bikes when they were younger."