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Foley, AL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Organizers thought Foley Park -- a small green space next to a middle school -- had untapped potential. Foley Main Street and the City of Foley transformed the park into a local music destination. Redubbing the space Freenotes Harmony Park, Foley Main Street installed a collection of outdoor musical instruments, including contrabass chimes, an orange swirl, a yellow imbraimba and rainbow drums. The instruments are designed to be easy to play -- similar to a xylophone, the imbarimba has 22 fiberglass keys of varying lengths, which sit atop metal chimes. Visitors can play the instrument by striking the keys with the attached mallets. The instruments weren't the only upgrade to the pocket park. The City also assed an amphitheater with lights, power outlets and an ADA-compliant stage. Since their installation, the instruments have created an outdoor classroom for middle school students on weekdays, as well as a gathering place for residents of all ages on evenings and weekends.
Parowan, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project will provide shaded bleachers at a city park to create a welcoming recreational space for older adults. Park improvements also include six new pickleball courts.
Minden, LA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: The project will install shade coverings in the local park to make it more comfortable and enjoyable for residents of all ages.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
St. Paul, MN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Reconnect Communities
Description: This project will create a virtual reality production depicting life in the Rondo neighborhood before, during and after a 1960s Interstate highway project split the community in two. Organizers will ask older residents to contribute their stories.
St. Paul, MN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The city government in St. Paul hoped to enhance walkability through safety improvements at two unmarked pedestrian crossings along Marion Street. To accomplish that, the city created two long-term temporary crosswalks at Ravoux and Fuller Streets. The work included adding pedestrian crosswalk signs, painting high-visibility block-pattern crosswalk markings and installing pedestrian refuge islands and bump-outs. The city also restricted parking near the intersections and installed a temporary radar speed sign along the corridor. The project enabled local government agencies and civic organizations to gather data needed to support permanent crosswalks upgrades in the area. Using the results, the city began its re-envisioning Marion Street as a pedestrian-friendly, multi-modal corridor in 2021.
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