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2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
└ Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
This project enhanced three crossing areas at the southern end of the Wells Street corridor to improve safety. It installed new lighting, seating and planters and hosted events to draw attention to the area.
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Providence, RI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: This project transformed a parking lane into a temporary urban trail to assess safety, build community support and affect the permanent redesign of Hope Street.
Missoula, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Missoula's Transportation Planning hoped to improve safety at a busy intersection in the Riverfront neighborhood, while also giving people a space to gather. First, project organizers asked residents and local business owners for their ideas to improve the streetscape. Ahead of activating the intersection, the city's public works department made upgrades to pavement and water mains. Based on community feedback, Missoula Transportation Planning then created bulb-outs, which extend the curb into the intersection, giving pedestrians extra space, making them more visible to drivers and shortening the distance needed to cross the road. Curb ramps make the crosswalks accessible. To create a seating area, they also created two parklets -- mini-parks that fit in the footprint of on-street parking spaces. The parklets featured art, a space to park bikes and decorative foliage.
Macon, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: To help strengthen bonds between the Vineville and Pleasant Hill neighborhoods, Bike Walk Macon installed four artistic crosswalks at the corner of Clayton and Walnut streets. Residents worked to redesign the crossings and painted vibrant designs onto the pavement. The artwork creates a sense of place and also alerts drivers to pedestrians crossing the street, increasing safety.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Fort Wayne, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: To encourage walking, cycling and other forms of active transportation, Active Living Indiana worked with Team Better Block to install a temporary traffic-calming plaza on Columbia Avenue. Located near Fort Wayne's greenway, the site featured blue-and-white crosswalk striping, public art installations, foliage and a temporary, bright purple bike path offset from traffic by cones. In order to show residents how changes to the streetscape can make walking safer, the organizations also hosted an event promoting active communities. There, attendees could take in live music, enjoy local food vendors, play street games and experience the traffic calming interventions in-person. Project organizers say they hope the pop-up demonstration will be a springboard for more permanent street redesigns in the future.
Fort Wayne, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Bridge of Grace Ministries set out to make the underserved Mount Vernon Park neighborhood safe, walkable and accessible for all. Their effort included physical improvements, including updated landscaping, new porch swings and banners promoting their work. They also conducted a storytelling project, inviting Mount Vernon Park residents to gather and share their personal histories and experiences. Volunteers videotaped the event and featured the stories on YouTube. Participants in the storytelling events reported a profound sense of connection with neighbors and the community.
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