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Pigtown Main Street (2017) Print
2017 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
└ Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Organizers with Pigtown Main Street hoped to revitalize the intersection of Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevards. The intersection acts as a gateway to Pigtown, one of Baltimore's most diverse neighborhoods. However, Washington Boulevard is a six-lane divided highway and public spaces along the route have been neglected. To help residents envision street improvements, Pigtown Main Street organized a pop-up event, creating a park at the intersection. Ideas presented included adding curb extensions to help pedestrians cross the street safety, installing bike lanes, reducing the number of travel lanes, displaying public art, creating outdoor seating and eating areas and improving landscaping. Visitors to the pop-up were invited to share their feedback. Organizers set up Dot Boards, which allowed people to place a dot by the photos of activities they'd like to see more of. The top five choices: live performances, outdoor food, parties, art events and outdoor classes.
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See More Projects Like This One
Louisville, KY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: At a width of 150 feet, Louisville's Ninth Street had the feel of a thoroughfare. To improve the street's safety and aesthetics, Louisville Metro Government upgraded sidewalks, painted bars to make crosswalks more visible to drivers and changed signals to give pedestrians more crossing time. To give people a space to rest, they added benches to an underused green space in the median, the site of an existing sculpture. Doing so created a public space for residents declared that a place to sit and rest in the area was one of their preferred amenities. Organizes say the project has sparked conversations about how to continue improving the pedestrian experience on Ninth Street. Louisville is now exploring adding bike lanes, as well as bump-outs to make crossing distances smaller. "We want to redesign this corridor with people in mind and not just cars, Gretchen Millikin," director of advanced planning, said.
Providence, RI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Hope Street's design favored cars, limiting safe mobility for people without vehicles. PSC and their partners built a temporary urban trail, converting a parking lane into a two-way path for bikes and scooters and added a bus island. Over 2,000 residents tried the trail and 1,000 shared feedback, with most supporting permanent changes. Comments praised the safer, more vibrant street: "Hope Street feels like a recreation destination... I would come here just to stroll and hang out with friends."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Torrington, CT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Older adults living near Prospect Street faced unsafe crossings to reach downtown shops and bus stops due to worn markings, poor asphalt and lack of ADA ramps. The project installed ADA-compliant ramps with tactile pads, solar-powered flashing beacons and new signage, replacing deteriorated surfaces for safer passage. These upgrades prompted the city to repave surrounding streets and plan similar improvements near other housing complexes. Residents welcomed the changes, saying they make trips downtown easier and safer.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
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: Pedestrian Safety
Description: Mount Clare Community Council addressed unsafe sidewalks that made everyday walking difficult for residents, particularly older adults and people with disabilities who rely on foot travel to reach bus stops, gardens and nearby services. Years of deferred maintenance had left cracked pavement, missing curb ramps and hazardous waiting areas along key routes. The Council completed targeted repairs to more than 1,200 square feet of sidewalks, including rebuilding an ADA ramp, fixing sidewalks in front of homes owned by retired residents and improving access at a busy bus stop and a community garden. The work removed long-standing trip hazards and restored code-compliant access where it was most urgently needed. One retired homeowner sent a brief message of thanks after the sidewalk in front of her home was fixed. The project made daily trips safer and supported ongoing efforts to secure broader, city-led sidewalk improvements.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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