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City of West Sacramento (2017) Print
2017 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
└ Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
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.
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See More Projects Like This One
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.
Macon-Bibb County, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Using public art, Bike Walk Macon set out to improve pedestrian safety in three high-traffic corridors near community centers. First, project organizers gathered feedback from residents of the East Macon, Pleasant Hill and South Macon neighborhoods. They then commissioned two local artists to design on-street murals and artistic crosswalks. With help from volunteers, the artists painted the designs onto the pavement during three Open Streets events. Organizers say they compiled lessons learned from the placemaking initiative into a toolkit for future traffic calming projects. And since creating the crosswalks, Bike Walk Macon has completed similar interventions in other neighborhoods.
Hamilton, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: 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.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
West Sacramento, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Emergency preparedness skills
Description: West Sacramento officials were disturbed by the statistics: older adults are more than twice as likely to die or be injured in a house fire. City officials commissioned a video to educate older adults about ways to improve fire safety, focusing specifically on people living in areas with higher incidences of fire-related accidents. The video featured the local fire marshal and residents, who were quizzed on their knowledge of fire safety. They discussed whether they had fire extinguishers and smoke detectors in their homes and what they thought was the leading cause of fires. The video aired on public access television and project organizers posted it online and promoted it via social media. Additionally, the City handed out 96 free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to locals.
West Sacramento, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Expansion and enhancement of transportation options
Description: The City of West Sacramento wanted to improve older adults' ability to move independently around the community. First, the City identified barriers that kept residents from embracing new transportation services. Then they set out to make older adults aware of local rideshare and bikeshare offerings. To help older adults understand their options, the City held one-on-one trainings with individuals, as well as group training sessions. Additionally, they mailed informational fliers to residents. Data gathered during the pilot project enabled city staff to better understand how to structure programs in the future to maximize ridership among people of all ages. It also expanded many older adults' ability to run errands, meet up with friends and travel to medical appointments. Now we have options, one resident told city planners.
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