Bethel, VT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Trails

Description: Many amenities in Bethel are only accessible by car. To encourage active transportation instead, the Town created a path for walking, biking and cross-country skiing. The multiuse trail runs from the town's elementary school to the town's new outdoor recreation area. Organizers hope the new path helps residents reach several upgraded recreational facilities nearby, including a new pool house and skate park. Spurred by the pathway's popularity, the Town is exploring ways to construct connector pathways to expand the trail network. By encouraging people to walk, organizers say the multiuse path will support Bethels economy, connecting pedestrians to local businesses.

Deer Lodge, MT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Trails

Description: To give residents a new way to access Deer Lodge's commercial district, the Powell County Parks Board built a trail connector linking up a park in the town's residential area. To enable construction, the County worked with a landowner to secure a public access easement through his property. Then the County's road crew donated its time, labor and equipment to prepare the site, installing and relocating culverts. Additionally, the Board hired a contractor to build fencing along the easement, creating a border for the trail. Before, residents had to walk along a 45-mile-per-hour highway to reach businesses and the local medical center. But since construction, Deer Lodge has continued to improve its trail system, which the City has identified as an essential feature of its ongoing downtown revitalization efforts.

Newark, DE

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Trails

Description: At White Clay Creek State Park, even accessible trails could be hard to use without places to stop and rest. Long stretches without seating limited how far people with mobility challenges, including older adults, could comfortably walk and how long they could stay. Friends of White Clay Creek State Park addressed that gap by installing two ADA-compliant benches on concrete pads along accessible trails, spaced to allow regular pauses. The benches created safe, predictable resting points for trail users who need breaks or use mobility aids. Following the installation, the park saw increased trail use and appreciation from visitors who could now spend more time outdoors. The project also established a clear approach for future improvements, with plans to add similar benches in other parts of the park to further expand access.

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