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Sweet Streets Salt Lake (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Improved wayfinding
└ Improved wayfinding
As part of larger Complete Streets efforts to make local roadways friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists, Sweet Streets installed wayfinding signage throughout Salt Lake City. The signs display the distances to nearby amenities such as shops and parks, as well as the time needed to reach them on foot or by bike. Project organizers hope the initiative encourages residents to explore their community without getting in a car. Additionally, Sweet Streets held a series of outreach events to engage residents on street safety and design, especially as the nonprofit advocates for lowered speed limits on many roads.
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Sheboygan, WI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Improved wayfinding
Description: The City of Sheboygan augmented its downtown historical walking tour by creating a mobile app to teach residents and tourists about the city's heritage. The app was based on StriveOn, a platform designed to tell stories about local places. Additionally, the City installed signs and created printed paper maps for people who don't use smartphones or computers. The effort involved local businesses -- and their unique buildings -- in the tour. Project organizers hope the walking tour gets people interested in historical preservation and increases opportunities for physical activity.
Belchertown, MA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Improved wayfinding
Description: Located near schools and an assisted living community, the Lake Wallace Sensory Trail is designed to welcome trail users of all abilities, including those with limited mobility or sensory issues. The rope-guided trail with Braille markers -- one of four in the state -- serves as a model for future accessible projects. This project added new tactile signs in Braille. Another feature gives visitors the option to lower the new trailhead kiosk to wheelchair height for easy access. Signage along the trail points out intersections, resting spots and information about lake ecology and the site's history. Part of the Belchertown Heritage Trails network, the sensory trail has since attracted more additional and community involvement.
Greendale, WI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Improved wayfinding
Description: After gathering feedback from focus groups with residents, the Greendale Health Department installed directional signs and benches along the village's walking trails. A number of local organizations participated, including the Girls Scouts and students from the local school district. With help from the Greendale Women's Club, they also created and distributed maps of the trails. Project organizers say the effort allowed for community engagement and the new benches, signs and map help residents and visitors better utilize the community's trails.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Salt Lake City, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety
Description: Older adults in Salt Lake City often feel overlooked in transit planning, leaving them isolated in neighborhoods divided by highways and poor air quality. HEAL addressed this by hosting walk audits and listening sessions, creating a toolkit for residents, and partnering with the transit authority to teach residents how to use buses and apply for reduced fares. These efforts amplified older voices in city studies and boosted independence by showing practical routes and services. One participant said learning about a nearby bus line made them feel less dependent on rides from family and friends.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Salt Lake City, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Salt Lake City's Taylorsville neighborhood is home to refugee families from Syria, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Many new residents, however, struggle with social isolation. To help people feel connected, Salt Lake County created a community garden at the local senior center. Volunteers built four raised beds and the County provided ergonomic gardening equipment, seeds and starter plants. Project organizers say the opportunity to garden gives older adults -- who were often farmers and ranchers in their native countries -- a renewed sense of purpose. Gardening also allows them to form relationships with their neighbors.
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