Bayfield, WI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Bikeability

Description: Visitors to Beaver Hollow -- a popular outdoor recreation center -- often arrived by bicycle. But the facility didn't offer secure bike parking. Responding to community members' feedback, the Friends of North Pikes Creek Wetlands installed a new wave-style bike rack, which accommodates 13 bikes. They also added a bench nearby to give people a place to rest. To make the space appealing, volunteers planted native flowers and added decorative boulders. Organizers hope the improvements draw more people to Beaver Hollow, allowing them to spend time outdoors.

Wilmette, IL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Bikeability

Description: Environmental advocacy group Go Green Wilmette raised awareness of cycling through tactical urbanism, which involve short-term, low-cost changes meant to inspire longer-term improvements. The organization staged a village bicycle ride in partnership with the Wilmette Park District and Bike Wilmette. Along the route, the group installed a temporary protected bicycle lane. They did this using a pop-up toolkit they created, which includes planters, stencils and signs for use in temporary demonstrations. Go Green Wilmette later redeployed these items at school bike rodeo safety events and made them available to residents to use at block parties. In 2021, Wilmette's village board approved its Master Bike and Active Transportation Plan. Shaped by community input, the plan aims to improve pedestrian and cycling access to the Village's business district, parks, schools, transit stations and other destinations.

Cumberland, ME

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Bikeability

Description: Older adults who wanted to enjoy local forest trails often could not walk long distances or manage a two-wheel bicycle, leaving many disconnected from nature close to home. By adding fat tire tricycles and helmets and inviting residents to help assemble them, the town created an accessible way to explore five miles of wooded paths. Early riders showed how meaningful this new access was. One woman said she had lived there for 37 years and never knew the trails existed. The project boosted confidence, reduced isolation and encouraged plans for more inclusive outdoor programs.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.