See More Projects Like This One

Richmond, VA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement

Description: Hundreds of elementary school students cross busy Lynhaven Avenue each day on their way to school in Richmond's Bellemeade neighborhood. Walk audits and other community engagement efforts have shown speeding and distracted driving are a common issue on the street. To slow down traffic and improve safety, Sports Backers commissioned local artists to create pavement murals at two intersections. Project organizers hope murals catch the attention of motorists, encouraging them to pay attention to the road and slow down.

Palmer, AK

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: This project created raised gardening beds, designed to be accessible for gardeners who use wheelchairs. Volunteers constructed two dozen planter boxes and benches, which project organizers then set up in several locations, including at senior housing complexes community and senior centers, on a town main street and at a community garden. The project also created educational programming to teach older adult residents about adaptive and accessible gardening. Organizers say they hope maintaining the new planters will give people access to fresh food, as well as the opportunity to socialize.

Middleburgh, NY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: To make its parks and business district more accessible to a wide range of people, the Village of Middleburgh installed six benches and two multi-use tables. Village staff report those benches and tables proved useful during the COVID-19 pandemic when they provided older adults with a place for safe, outdoor activities. The project also attracted additional private and nonprofit donations for future improvements in Middleburgh and inspired plans for other accessibility projects, such as adding a wheelchair lift to the village hall.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

Dallas, TX

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Transportation Systems Change

Description: The project features a design competition, which invites participants to imagine pop-up placemaking options for a local farmers market. The parking lot for a local food bank will be re-imagined with better parking layout, a basketball court mural, and shaded space for customers to wait. A walk audit will identify potential areas for sidewalk improvements and the placement of benches.

Dallas, TX

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Bikeability

Description: To work toward creating a safe, bikeable community, Bike Friendly South Dallas expanded its Hub and Spoke program, a partnership with local organizations to install bike repair stations throughout the community. Project organizers installed seven repair stations, as well as cabinets filled with tools for repairs, in an area of South Dallas with no bike shops. Bike Friendly South Dallas also provided training on bike repair skills and bike safety to local partner organizations.

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