AARP Hearing Center
AARP Livable Communities Map
Orange County Department on Aging (2017) Print
2017 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Public or private transit access
└ Public or private transit access
Many bus stops in rural Orange County lacked shelters or a place to sit. To address this, the Orange County Department on Aging worked with the county's public transportation department to install new seats at 15 bus stops. Designed to maximize space at stops without enough room for a transit shelter, the seats accommodate two people and are attached to the bus stop sign. Project organizers say the seats increase accessibility in rural parts of the county, where no bus stop sign was in place. Following installation of the seats, the public transportation department committed to building permanent bus shelters in high-traffic, rural areas.
Photo Gallery
Image:
Click on a photo to learn more
See More Projects Like This One
Stevens Point, WI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: This project will install five age-friendly benches at selected transit stops, all of which have a high-degree of usage and are situated along major transportation corridors.
St. Louis, MO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: At many bus stops, riders must stand for long periods without seating, a challenge that discourages transit use for older adults. Citizens for Modern Transit installed benches with backs and armrests at stops that previously lacked basic amenities. The project paired seating improvements with volunteer-led story collection from riders and nearby residents. At one opening, a rider shared she had spent hundreds of hours standing at that stop, while another had relied on a milk crate to sit. The benches improved daily comfort and helped prompt additional local investment in shelters and stop upgrades.
Willmar, MN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: This project distributed transit tokens to older adults and people with disabilities in residential facilities. Childcare providers received transit passes allowing them to take children in their care to such facilities, promoting intergenerational contact. Additionally, Mid-Minnesota Development Commission purchased two electric trishaws to expand micro-mobility options at residential care facilities.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Chapel Hill, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Transportation Systems Change
Description: This project will install pedestrian safety islands with garden beds, LED lighting and signs on streets in Chapel Hill, to make them safer for pedestrians, particularly those who are older adults.
Chatham County, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: When the owner of the Bynum General Store in Pittsboro retired, neighbors established a nonprofit organization called Bynum Front Porch, which turned the shop into a community center and performance space. When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, grant funds -- and the power of high-speed internet -- enabled the venue to livestream its monthly storytelling workshops and musical events. Bynum Front Porch set up a recording equipment in the space, allowing the nonprofit to reach older adults, former residents and others unable to gather in person. In the years since, Bynum Front Porch has continued to stream live performance and archive shows on its YouTube channel.
LEARN MORE AND STAY INFORMED
Find articles and resources about making communities more livable for people of all ages
Download or order free publications from AARP Livable Communities
Sign up for the free, weekly, award-winning AARP Livable Communities eNewsletter
Don't see your community listed?
LEARN HOW IT CAN JOIN THE NETWORKConnect with your AARP State Office
AARP has offices in all 50 states as well as in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
AARP North Carolina State Office
5511 Capital Center Drive
Suite 400
Raleigh, NC 27606
United States