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City of Canistota (2022) Print
2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Park enhancements
└ Park enhancements
This project set out to improve an undeveloped park. To do this, the City installed accessible picnic tables, benches and a water fountain onsite. Organizers hope the improvements improve safety at the park, making residents more likely to visit.
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See More Projects Like This One
Warrenton, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: To guide redevelopment of Eva Walker Park, this project developed a master plan to guide improvements to the beloved community space. Goals in the plan include enhancing a popular sledding hill with slides and a new staircase, constructing an amphitheater and pavilions and creating new basketball courts, gardens, paths and a playground. To kick off the plan's implementation, the Town created a contemplative garden at the park, adding benches, new landscaping, a concrete pathway and a decorative panel to beautify the park's gateway.
Ocean Springs, MS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Ocean Springs has an active group of advocates working to make streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. However, many intersections remain dangerous, as vehicle speeds can be high during peak commuting times. The Ocean Springs Pedestrians and Residents for Exercise and Youth Safety painted a pavement mural in one of the city's busiest intersections. The artwork is meant to slow traffic by drawing attention to pedestrians crossing the street. OSRPEYS also developed a pocket park nearby, which they equipped with picnic tables, planters, bike racks and native plants. Since its installation, the park has become a gathering space for community members of all ages and community groups host activities onsite.
Chattanooga, TN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
Description: To help combat social isolation, the City of Chattanooga's Department of Youth and Family Development provided older adults with Chromebooks, mouses and hotspots to allow them to connect to the internet. Additionally, the City offered digital skills classes at several locations to help them use the devices. Project organizers say the COVID-19 pandemic limited opportunities for social interaction for many residents. This project provided vulnerable residents with internet access and know-how, allowing them to build and maintain interpersonal relationships.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Sioux Falls, SD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Bikeability
Description: A community health assessment showed Sioux Falls residents wanted better bike amenities to help them keep physically active. To support bikeability, the City installed benches and bike maintenance stations along a popular bike route. Additionally, the City installed two electric wheelchair charging stations at public library branches that sit along the bike path, allowing people of all ages and abilities to use it. If individuals have more opportunities to get on a bike and know there are amenities on the trail to make their ride more comfortable, they will likely increase their regular activity levels using a bike for recreation and for commuting, project leader Mary Michaels said. Organizers say the project also raised awareness about safety on the trail, as well as the community's accessibility needs.
Sioux Falls, SD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The City of Sioux Falls hoped to encourage residents to consider active transportation -- walking and biking -- as a way to get around. To do this, the City created a quick-build infrastructure kit, which it used to install a temporary protected bike lane at one location and a curb bump-out at another. The bump out -- a safe extension of the sidewalk into the street -- makes pedestrians more visible to drivers and shortens the distance needed to cross the street. City planners gathered feedback from cyclists in the community, who suggested possible future locations for protected bike lanes. Because the infrastructure kit is mobile, the City hopes to deploy it elsewhere in the future.
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