Raytown, MO

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Trails

Description: This project supported amenities for the new Rock Island Trail, which passes in front of the local Chamber of Commerce. The Raytown Chamber of Commerce Building Foundation installed two benches, a bike stand and a water fountain along the trail. They also hung a wall organizer in the building's lobby to display brochures featuring community information.

Bethlehem, NY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Trails

Description: As part of its efforts to bring public art to the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail, the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy created a mural along the trail in the Town of Bethlehem. Project organizers chose a local artist from a pool of applicants to paint the mural, which depicts a surreal landscape and adorns a formerly graffitied wall. Since then, the Art on the Rail Trail (ART) initiative has installed several more murals, as well as a mini art gallery and arts programming. The trail is popular with pedestrians and cyclists in warm weather and cross-county skiers and snowshoe hikers in the winter.

Portland, OR

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Trails

Description: Southwest Portland's lack of sidewalks forces older adults to navigate unsafe streets, limiting independence and access to essentials. To address this, SWTrails installed 55 new signs and replaced 196 damaged ones along its 46-mile volunteer-built trail network, making routes easier to follow. Volunteers, many age 60-plus, committed to ongoing maintenance, ensuring trails remain safe for walking and transit access. These improvements enhance mobility and reduce isolation for residents who rely on trails for daily travel. One user shared, "I now use these trails to get to my bus stop since there are no sidewalks in our area."

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