Kemah, TX

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026

Project Category: Walk Audits

Description: Walk audits will review pedestrian connections to the waterfront and boardwalk areas. Mapped findings will guide future route improvements and capital planning.

Dover-Foxcroft, ME

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Walk Audits

Description: Central Hall Commons set out to address unsafe walking conditions downtown, where broken sidewalks, missing handrails and unreliable crossing signals pushed pedestrians into traffic. This made routine trips risky for older adults and people with limited mobility. Walk audits of Monument Square and Union Square documented steep sidewalk slopes, gaps at private properties, a crosswalk near an accident-prone intersection and signals that failed or were missing. One walker said confusion at crossings led them to "jump out ahead of vehicles," showing how failures shaped dangerous behavior. The project produced a formal audit with fixes, from repairing signals and closing sidewalk gaps to adding benches and traffic-calming treatments. The work elevated pedestrian safety in public decision-making. It is intended to influence near-term fixes and the scope of future improvements that better support older adults and other residents.

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

Ithaca, NY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026

Project Category: Walk Audits

Description: Walk audits will examine sidewalk and crossing conditions near Ithaca’s downtown bus stations. Findings will inform design and placemaking efforts that support safer travel for older adults.