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City of Hamilton (2023) Print
2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
└ Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Fast traffic and unsafe crossings on State Street and Southside streets made walking hazardous for older adults and residents of an income-restricted housing complex. The city partnered with Bike Walk Bitterroot and Western Transportation Institute to install pop-up traffic calming features, including neighborhood traffic circles and sidewalk extensions with pedestrian refuge islands. Volunteers helped implement the designs after community walk audits. The changes slowed vehicles and improved visibility, making crossings safer for pedestrians. Residents praised the improvements, and the city plans seasonal reinstallation and is exploring permanent solutions based on data and feedback.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Enid, OK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Project organizers with Main Street Enid hoped to get drivers to notice pedestrians crossing the street. To do this, they commissioned a local artist to create crosswalks murals. Community members helped paint the designs, which depict a sunset, a cityscape, a flower motif and grains of wheat. In addition to increasing pedestrian safety, project organizers say the artistic crosswalks beatify Enid's arts district.
West Sacramento, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Residents of a senior apartment complex complained that the intersection connecting them to a senior apartment complex to West Sacramento's City Hall, senior center, library and transit center was difficult to cross. To help residents safely reach local amenities, the City of West Sacramento installed countdown timers, pedestrian-controlled crosswalk buttons and talking signals. Since the upgrades, the City reports no older adults have been struck by cars at the intersection. And the project's success has inspired West Sacramento officials to incorporate age-friendly elements in other infrastructure projects, including future crosswalk improvements.
Pittsburgh, PA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Residents wanted safer streets but lacked tools to advocate for change. Bike Pittsburgh addressed this by hosting five workshops that trained older adults and others to design and launch street safety campaigns. The project also installed a community-designed mural near a library to slow traffic and create a welcoming space. The mural now improves access for older adults and youth, and graduates are pursuing additional projects. One participant said the training "helped me prioritize and structure all my advocacy projects... more strategically and efficiently."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Hamilton, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: In Montana's Bitterroot Valley, older adults and low-income families faced food insecurity and limited access to fresh produce. The "Veggie Brigade" paired youth farm interns with older adults to grow vegetables in donated yard spaces and community plots. Volunteers built 32 raised beds, distributed thousands of plants and prepared weekly salads and soups for local food assistance clients. The project increased food availability and created intergenerational connections through shared gardening and meal preparation. This has led tohands-on education that will support ongoing efforts to fight food insecurity and strengthen community ties. "Having a young team of Veggie Brigade interns that could clean out our large garden after my husband passed away was so meaningful," one participant said.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Victor, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Accessible parking, benches and an information kiosk will be installed at a new public park next to downtown. These features will help visitors comfortably reach and enjoy the park and make outdoor use easier for people with mobility needs.
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