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Evansville, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Pedestrian Safety
Description: This project will add three solar-powered lights to the Greenway north of Lamasco Park, enhancing pedestrian safety. This project aims to provide safer evening access for residents, especially older adults.
Charlotte, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Pedestrian Safety
Description: Charlotte's older adults faced daily risks when navigating unsafe streets, where missing sidewalks, short crossing times and dangerous intersections made routine trips difficult. By speaking with more than 100 residents age 50 and over, the project gathered detailed accounts of these challenges and used them to refine a digital tool that highlights hazardous areas and recommends improvements. Residents' input strengthened the tool's accuracy and helped prompt Charlotte officials to consider it for planning decisions. The effort built trust and gave older adults a clearer voice in shaping safer street design that supports their mobility and confidence.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Eastman, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Pedestrian Safety
Description: People walking along a busy corridor faced daily safety risks because the street lacked sidewalks and clear crossings. With no designated space to walk, residents had to navigate traffic near schools and nearby destinations, creating particular challenges for older adults making routine trips on foot. The City of Eastman installed new sidewalks and added painted crosswalks with flashing lights and visible signage. Together, these changes created predictable places to walk and cross where none existed before, reducing conflict between vehicles and pedestrians. The improvements eased daily movement for residents who walk for errands, exercise or to accompany family members. Older adults reported feeling safer using the corridor and more confident navigating the area on foot. The project also accelerated local plans to extend sidewalks on adjacent streets, helping reduce the risk of future pedestrian incidents and reinforcing a longer-term shift toward safer walking conditions.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Baltimore, MD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project helped prepare the ground for Rachael Wilson Memorial Park, named in honor of Maryland's first woman firefighter to be killed in the line of duty. To clear room for park amenities, Bon Secours Community Works removed two sections of concrete foundation, left over from the foundations of abandoned homes that once sat on the site. Project organizers also planted 30 trees. The new greenspace is the result of a grassroots effort by two longtime West Baltimore residents and advocates. Today, the park features new playground equipment and a mural painted by a local artist, which pays tribute to Rachael Wilson.
Baltimore, MD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Bike Audits
Description: Unsafe street conditions made walking and biking difficult in Mount Clare, especially for older adults navigating fast traffic and limited cycling infrastructure. Mount Clare Community Council organized a volunteer-led bike audit to document these risks and bring resident experiences into local planning. Volunteers completed intersection traffic counts, ride-along audits and walk audits that captured how speeding and driver behavior affect daily travel. New virtual meeting equipment also expanded access, drawing more older adults and retirees into neighborhood discussions. The findings helped advance a planned cycle track on Pratt Street and informed a broader neighborhood plan with additional cycling improvements. One participant age 50-plus said the audit encouraged him to start biking and speak out about the need for traffic calming after seeing the dangers firsthand.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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