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2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Bike Audits
└ Bike Audits
Older adults helped audit a multi-use path where safety and accessibility issues limited use. Their input highlighted hazards and informed plans for improvements. The project also built ties with the bike advisory committee, giving older adults a voice in shaping safer routes. Continued engagement, including monthly meetings, ensures their concerns remain central to future upgrades.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Richmond, TX
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Bike Audits
Description: Cracked asphalt trails at Four Corners Park limited safe walking and biking for older adults and stalled plans for a tricycle lending program. Fit Houston led two audits with county staff and participants age 50-plus, identifying hazards and advocating for improvements. The effort prompted Fort Bend County to allocate $600,000 for a new 12- to 14-foot concrete trail and spurred collaboration on mapping regional trail connections. Educational materials for trike safety were also developed, giving older adults a role in shaping safer, more accessible recreation spaces.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Hickory, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Bike Audits
Description: Residents in Hickory needed a clearer understanding of sidewalk gaps, unsafe crossings and the barriers faced by people using mobility devices. During the statewide Transportation Summit, BikeWalk led bike and walk audits that taught participants how to identify safety issues. The audits revealed problem areas downtown and near the Salt Block, and several attendees said the mobility roll audit opened their eyes to challenges wheelchair users encounter. The findings are expected to shape the design of the Olle Art Walk and guide future improvements to sidewalks and crossings as city projects move forward.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Stockton, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Bike Audits
Description: The Partnership set out to understand safety issues along a 12-mile stretch of the Delaware River Scenic Byway, where cyclists faced hazards such as debris, cracked pavement and faded markings that forced riders, including older adults, into traffic. Volunteers completed 34 audits, documenting conditions across three segments and noting that while many riders enjoyed the route for recreation and commuting, problems like fallen branches and drainage issues created real risks. One rider described ending up in the emergency room after hitting a branch on the shoulder. The project produced clear recommendations for permanent "share the road" signage, more frequent debris removal, better maintenance and guidance for less experienced riders to use the adjacent canal trail. These findings will be shared with municipalities and land managers to help improve safety for the long term.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Skokie, IL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Disaster Preparedness
Description: Orchard Village set out to help older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities prepare for emergencies by offering clear guidance and accessible tools. The team held disaster preparedness trainings for clients, staff and family members, creating contact books, checklists and tailored presentations. They also distributed go-bags, whistles and flashlights. They equipped each community home with a waterproof emergency kit stocked with essential items. Participants said the sessions opened their eyes to the risks they may face and motivated them to create their own go-bags. Staff reported feeling more confident supporting clients during emergencies and the improvements strengthened readiness across all homes.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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.
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