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DC Office of Planning (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Public or private transit access
└ Public or private transit access
While Washington, D.C. has a robust public transit system, rider amenities are not consistent throughout the city and the Pennsylvania Avenue East Corridor is particularly underserved. The city's Office of Planning hoped to use creative placemaking techniques to make waiting for the bus safer and more comfortable. Project organizers worked with local artists to design and build an Imagination Bench, which they placed on a well-used bus route. The bench has solar-powered illumination and a QR code on its side directs viewers to information about the bench and local planning efforts. Originally installed near Fort Dupont Park, planning staff intend to feature the brightly colored bench at the city's farmers markets, pop-up shops and other community events.
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Chino Valley, AZ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: Yavapai Regional Transit installed an ADA-compliant bus stop shelter in Chino Valley. Although the transit provider had purchased a steel bus shelter, it lacked enough funding to install it properly. This project laid a concrete pad for the shelter, as well as an accessible walkway and bollards to protect it from traffic. On the day of its installation, a frequent rider asked if she could sit on the bench just to try it out. She told project organizers she was looking forward to having shelter from the sun and rain. Yavapai Regional transit chose Chino Valley for the shelter because many residents there don't drive or lack financial resources for other forms of transportation.
Washington County, VT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: An iconic bus shelter known to Mad River Valley locals as The Snail sat unused and had fallen into disrepair. The Yestermorrow Design/Build School stepped in to rescue the structure, replacing rotting siding and roofing, upgrading structural elements and adding accessibility features, such as handrails. After clearing a space on School grounds, volunteers then moved The Snail four miles down the road. They also planted native vegetation around The Snail. Following these improvements, the spiral-shaped bus shelter is now back in use at a public bus stop.
Elsa, TX
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: People using the local bus service in Elsa had no designated bus stop facilities. To catch a bus, residents could stand on the side the highway and wave -- an unsafe situation on the area's busy roads. To make waiting for public transit safer and more comfortable, the City set out to add bus shelters along State Highway 107.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Washington, DC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Capturing data and feedback from residents
Description: The 1882 Foundation hoped to strengthen community identity and increase civic engagement in DC's Chinatown, particularly among older adults. The Foundation designed a digital map featuring stories about places with historical and cultural significance to the neighborhood's longtime community members, including past and present residents and leaders. The Foundation distributed storytelling kits, which included tools to help participants tell their stories by writing and recording audio. Project organizers provided storytellers with bilingual instructions in English and Mandarin. To promote the initiative, the Foundation held a Mid-Autumn Festival event at the Wah Luck House, an affordable housing complex. Organizers say the digital platform will help inform urban planning policies by ensuring community priorities are included in redevelopment proposals for Chinatown.
Washington, DC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety
Description: To increase older adults' mobility, the Capitol Hill Village worked to raise residents' awareness of the local transportation offerings. The nonprofit offered social events and educational programming to teach more than 100 residents how to get around without driving. The trainings covered pedestrian safety and provided older adults with in-depth information on transportation services, including the Metrorail system, Capital Bikeshare and local paratransit service. Project organizers say participants increased their knowledge of and confidence using local transportation options.
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